An aide to Gov. Cuomo says state Director of Operations Howard Glaser was just “having a little fun” when he took to Twitter to rib MTA boss Joe Lhota.
Sure he was.
“Breaking: Joe Lhota announces Tunnel of Love to reopen at Rye Playland! (rush hour only),” Glaser tweeted Thursday.
“Hot: Joe Lhota announces MTA will reopen Tunnel, infamous 90s nightclub w train tracks down the dance floor. ‘JoLho’ to DJ off peak.”
And:
“Flash: Joe Lhota announces opening of 2nd Ave subway tunnel, in construction since 1929……um, wait. Recall tweet.”
Très amusant.
Actually, meow is more like it.
Lhota has been collecting well-earned high-fives for his speedy restoration of mass-transit service post-Sandy.
The subways were back long before the Albany-owned-and-operated Long Island Power Authority — a state “operation,” after all — had the juice back on.
So shouldn’t Glaser be needling himself?
Yes, the Lhota lovefest has been maybe a little over the top. At a recent breakfast, he drew wild applause. A woman said she wanted to hug him. (Monday, this page had high praise for him, too.)
No wonder he’s being touted for mayor.
But LIPA has been taking its lumps.
Fact is, long-lasting power outages have been a nightmare for its customers.
Not until Thursday, more than two whole weeks after Sandy came ashore, did the agency finally manage to get the juice flowing for most folks.
Residents are furious that the authority was so unprepared and failed to restore power sooner. (Notably, several LIPA board seats have long gone vacant.)
Cuomo himself blasted the agency, appointing a Moreland Act commission with subpeona power to investigate.
Not to be outdone, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman — as usual, bouncing along in somebody’s else’s wake — has launched his own probe of the utilities.
Interestingly, the Associated Press reported yesterday that — controlling for Sandy’s size and scope — the utilities overall didn’t perform all that badly compared to other major storms.
Maybe it’s time to take a deep breath and wait for all the facts to come in?
Certainly it’s time for one high-level Cuomo administration official to stop publicly needling another.
Twitter’s always good for a giggle, but only up to a point.