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He just started his gig at the MTA, but the agency’s new chairman is already a world-renowned expert on one infamous aspect of the subway system — rats.
Joseph Lhota was the city’s official “rat czar” in the 1990s under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a position that left Lhota with a bizarrely encyclopedic knowledge of the vermin that still plague the subway system.
In an interview with The Post on his first day as MTA chairman and CEO, Lhota was able to rattle off a slew of rat facts that show just how difficult it is to eradicate the filthy creatures.
“A female rat becomes sexually mature at five months. [Its] gestation period is 21 days,” said Lhota, who gained his expertise as Giuliani’s deputy mayor of operations.
“They have a litter anywhere between 12 and 15. Those rats live anywhere from one to three years . . . Start looking at the numbers exponentially; it’s extraordinary.”
There are upwards of 25 million rats in the city — about three per human resident.
During his time at City Hall, there was a sharp increase in rat complaints, and Giuliani tasked his top staffer with help in eradicating the problem.
Lhota’s position made headlines worldwide. Even David Letterman poked fun at the gig.
“It was brutal,” Lhota joked.
Little did he know he’d be able to use his rodent knowledge for more than just bar-stool trivia.
The MTA is in the midst of a rat epidemic, fueled by a decrease in cleaning personnel, according to the Transport Workers Union, which represents most subway workers.
Now Lhota is begging riders to help drive the vermin from the subways by cutting off their food supply.
“If you’re going to eat down there [in the subway], take it with you,” he said, adding that many people leave leftovers behind.
In a pilot program to reduce the rat population, the MTA has removed all garbage cans from two stations — 8th Street in the Village and Flushing-Main Street in Queens.
Lhota said he’s watching that program — which has worked well in the London system — to judge its success.