MTA Chairman Drops F-Bomb On Hot Mic

NEW YORK, NY — Being the MTA chairman is a frustrating, largely thankless job, and Chairman Joe Lhota let it show a little on Wednesday. A hot mic on the live stream of the MTA's monthly board meeting caught Lhota dropping a candid F-bomb as the board entered a closed-door session.

"Like I don't have enough f---ing problems," Lhota muttered as the MTA Board started its private executive session.

The remark followed a request from board member Charles Moerdler for the MTA to create a working group on paratransit and accessibility for straphangers with disabilities. But Lhota could have been cursing at his cellphone, which he was looking at just before he let the swear word slip.

There's little doubt Lhota and the agency he runs have plenty of problems.

He took over the MTA amid a so-called "summer of hell" for public transit. Subway ridership dropped in September after a stretch of derailments and chronic delays, according to data presented at MTA board meetings this week. And the state comptroller warned last week that the cash-strapped agency might have to hike fares faster than planned without more revenue.

But Lhota argued there's nothing to worry about. The drop in ridership has to do more with changes in how people work, he said, noting that rush-hour demand hasn't changed. He called the comptroller's threat of more fare hikes is "fearmongering of the worst type."

The agency is still working to fix the city's transit woes, and the working group Moerdler suggested may become a part of that effort, he said.

"We just continue to do more and more and more and focus, with the number one requirement being, what is it that we can do to help our customers?" Lhota said after Wednesday's board meeting.

Hear Lhota's F-bomb for yourself in the video on the MTA website at the 2:06:15 mark.

(Lead image: Joe Lhota is pictured in 2013. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)