March 17 (Bloomberg) -- A new governor of New York typically appoints 55 agency heads and deputies before taking office. New York Governor David Paterson won't have that luxury.

Paterson, 53, today became chief executive of a state reeling from the abrupt resignation of Eliot Spitzer on March 12, amid allegations that he was the client of a prostitution ring. The Democratic lieutenant governor took office facing a $4.5 billion budget gap that he is trying to close before the new fiscal year begins April 1 to avoid emergency spending measures.

``He is planning to keep everybody on for now until he gets a real assessment of what is going on there -- how the trains really run,'' said Bill Lynch, a Paterson political adviser.

Paterson, sworn in at about 1:15 p.m. New York time in Albany, the capital, is the state's first black governor and the nation's first legally blind one. Spitzer did not attend.

While Paterson started receiving calls from job seekers even before Spitzer resigned, the budget crisis should take precedence over forming his own team, said Lynch, a former deputy to New York Mayor David Dinkins.

``He ought to assess everybody who is up there, how things are running and in a few weeks start to make political appointments that are his appointments,'' said Lynch, who is taking names of those interested in working for Paterson and forwarding them to the new governor's staff.

As lieutenant governor, Paterson had a staff of 15. As governor, he is in charge of almost 200,000 state employees and a proposed budget of $124.3 billion.

Don't Underestimate

``He is legally blind, but he can see and he can do a lot of other things,'' said former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, a Democrat, in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt.'' ``He should not be underestimated.''

Paterson will retain Spitzer's budget director Laura Anglin, 42, and director of operations Paul Francis, said Christine Anderson, a Spitzer spokeswoman. Anderson said she was asked to stay through the transition and will stay as long as needed.

``You will see there is a lot of continuity in terms of the staff,'' Anderson said. ``There won't be a lot of turnover.''

One person who did resign, top Spitzer aide Richard Baum, will stay to help the transition, Anderson said.

The chairman of the Empire State Development Corp., Patrick Foye, submitted his resignation today, the agency said. Foye worked on economic development issues including plans to renovate Pennsylvania Station.

Staying On

Spitzer's senior adviser Bruce Gyory and first deputy secretary Sean Patrick Maloney will also stay on, Anderson said. Maloney will be given a new title and, along with Francis, serve as deputies to Charles O'Byrne, Paterson's current chief of staff. O'Byrne will take on the title of secretary and serve as Paterson's top adviser.

A former Jesuit priest, O'Byrne is a Columbia Law School graduate, said State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, a Democrat from the New York borough of Queens. He is ``a no- nonsense person and at times he can be that alter ego to the governor,'' Smith said. ``When the governor is known for humor and stuff, Charles will be there to be that sharp contrast.''

Michael Jones-Bey, Paterson's former chief of staff, said he ``plans to be helpful,'' declining to be specific about his role. He is executive director of the state's minority and women's business development unit.

Assemblyman Herman Farrell, a Manhattan Democrat who heads the lower house's ways and means committee, said Paterson ``will take from everywhere'' to form his administration.

Harlem Connection

Farrell is from the same Harlem political establishment as Paterson and his father, Basil, a former New York secretary of state. That group includes former Mayor Dinkins, former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and U.S. Representative Charles Rangel, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

``His style is to get along,'' Farrell said, ``but it doesn't mean weakness.''

Before he was elected as Spitzer's running mate 15 months ago, Paterson was the senate minority leader. He came to power after forcing out former leader Martin Connor of Brooklyn. Paterson then dedicated himself to overturning the Republican seven-seat senate majority, said Senator Eric Schneiderman, a Manhattan Democrat who has known Paterson for more than 20 years. Democrats are two seats away from taking power in the senate.

Schneiderman said Paterson has a close relationship with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, 78, a Republican from Brunswick who was Spitzer's arch-enemy.

To illustrate how close the two men are Schneiderman recalled an incident when Bruno's secretary, after hearing a commotion in his office, rushed to investigate and found him and Paterson inside sparring.

Boxing

``I'm here working on boxing with my partner,'' Bruno, an avid boxer, told his secretary in explaining the noise, Schneiderman said. Bruno was teaching Paterson how to jab, Schneiderman said of the improbable friendship.

``This is a guy who took him from this incredible seven-seat majority and being the powerhouse in Albany to being on the verge of extinction, and Joe, to this day, still loves David,'' Schneiderman said.

Spitzer staffers who stay with Paterson will have to make some changes from the way they briefed their former boss. Paterson, who doesn't read Braille, gets his news and policy briefings by long voice mails when face-to-face meetings aren't possible, said Armen Meyer, his spokesman. Aides also verbally describe graphs and charts, he said.

The new governor, who often flashes a sharp, self- deprecating wit, went through Columbia University as an undergraduate by having Oedipus and other assignments read to him, said Jesse Sligh, an executive assistant district attorney in Queens who was a classmate.

``He's got an excellent memory of people and things,'' Sligh said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam L. Cataldo in New York at acataldo@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 17, 2008 13:48 EDT