Joe Lhota Resigns, Subway All Better Now

Joe Lhota at the reopening of a subway station earlier this year

Joe Lhota's work is apparently done. The chairman of the MTA announced on Friday that he has resigned from the position, a surprise to many after he insisted last month that he wasn't going anywhere. The 64-year-old Cuomo appointee was rumored to be considering an exit, after facing scrutiny for potential conflicts of interest posed by his numerous side gigs. He will continue to serve as chief of staff at NYU Langone Health, director of the board at Madison Square Garden, and board member of the Friends of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector.

In a statement, Lhota told the Wall Street Journal that he accepted the public position last year for the "sole purpose of halting the decline of service and stabilizing the system for my fellow New Yorkers." While it may not feel like it, that ambition was in fact achieved, according to a man who has not ridden the subway since President Obama was still in office, five hundred thousand or so years ago.

"Joe Lhota has dedicated decades of his life to public service culminating in two tours of duty at the helm of the MTA," Cuomo said in a statement that referred to the mass transit system as a war zone. "He stabilized the subway system, appointed a new leadership structure to completely overhaul the MTA, and led with a steady hand during some of the agency’s most challenging moments. In short, Joe demonstrated time and again why he was the right person for the job."

Lhota, in turn, thanked Governor Cuomo, issuing a statement to Politico claiming the governor's "non-stop drive, enormous energy and vision are recreating a better and stronger MTA."

"The Governor understands the over-arching importance of mass transit for the people and the economy of New York," Lhota continued. "His commitment and robust support to enhance and modernize the MTA into an integrated 21st century transportation system is unmatched and unwavering." This is somewhat dubious.

In any case, we are also thankful for Lhota, who in 17 months of leadership managed to not kill a single kitten (as far as we know). We will cherish our many memories of Lhota's specific charms—including his impressive ability to parrot obscure legal statutes used to absolve the governor of responsibility for the transit system, and for that time he was caught on a hot mic declaring that increasing accessibility is not his "fucking problem."

Thank you for your service, Joe.

The MTA's vice chairman, Fernando Ferrer, will take over as acting chairman as a search begins for a permanent head.