N.Y. Transp. Law § 248

§ 248. Pending actions and proceedings. No action or proceeding\npending on March first, nineteen hundred seventy-one brought by or\nagainst the public service commission or the department of public\nservice, and pertaining to or connected with the functions, powers,\nobligations and duties transferred pursuant to this article, shall be\naffected by this article, but the same may be prosecuted or defended in\nthe name of the department or the commissioner. In all such actions and\nproceedings, the department or the commissioner, upon application to the\ncourt, shall be substituted as a party.\n