Reports: New York City subway chief resigning to consider run for mayor

{mosads}Lhota has testified recently before several congressional committees about Hurricane Sandy’s impact on his transit system.

He told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee’s subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security earlier this month that the storm brought the New York City subway system “a level of destruction that is completely unprecedented in our 108-year history.”

“Just over a month ago, Hurricane Sandy brought our system to its knees,” Lhota told lawmakers. “Left in the storm’s wake were eight flooded subway tunnels, two vehicular tunnels, 12 subway stations with major damage, some of them absolutely destroyed. We lost an entire bridge and a rail line serving the Rockaways and Queens, 15 miles of damaged or destroyed signaling and we had rail yards and maintenance shops under water and damaged.”

If Lhota chooses to run for New York City mayor in 2013, he will join a crowded field of Democrats seeking to replace outgoing Mayor Bloomberg after a twelve-year term.

Bloomberg was initially elected as a Republican, but he subsequently left the GOP, running for reelection to a third term in 2009 as an independent.