MTA's New 'Savior' Gets Second Chance To Fix Subways

NEW YORK, NY — The subway is falling apart but fear not, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has the solution. And it's more of the same.

The governor appointed a new head of the MTA Wednesday – the same guy who ran the beleaguered authority between 2011 and 2012 and who left to focus on a fairly disastrous run to become the city's mayor.

Lhota will already be familiar with the transit system's aging infrastructure, the infuriating delays and aggravated customers. Though they're apparently getting worse, none of the problems are new.

Lhota first served under Cuomo in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, working to get the system up and running after the devastating storm. He left the agency in 2012 to launch a failed bid for mayor against Bill de Blasio. . (Want more NYC news? Subscribe here for free breaking news alerts, features and neighborhood updates from Patch.)

"This is an incredibly challenging time for the MTA and we will immediately and aggressively tackle the problems the system is facing after decades of disinvestment," Lhota said in a statement – not mentioning that, for a time, he was in charge of that "disinvestment."

Lhota will serve as the MTA's chairman and will get a salary of $1 per year, Cuomo's office said. He will delegate CEO duties to a permanent executive officer. Veronique Hakim has served as the agency's interim executive director since January; it's unclear whether she will remain with the MTA permanently.

"There is much hard work to be done to address the MTA’s current failures, and the level of service and daily frustrations commuters are experiencing are completely unacceptable," Cuomo said in a statement.

"I know Joe will move to address these issues immediately and ensure a reliable and effective transportation system worthy of the city it serves."

The first half of 2017 has seen rush hour subway delays become a weekly, if not a daily, occurrence. The period of frequent disfunction was crystallized by video of an F train meltdown during which the train creaked through the tunnels from Manhattan to Brooklyn, trapping travelers inside a crowded and hot car for 45 minutes. The video showed riders desperately clawing at the train's doors.

Lead image by Kathleen Culliton / Patch.