Joseph Lhota, M.T.A. Chief, Apologizes to Senator Bill Perkins Joseph J. Lhota, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, needs to clear something up: State Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem is not a lying do-nothing after all. The day after Mr. Lhota spoke unflatteringly about Mr. Perkins to The New York Times in an article about eating on the subways and the vermin it can attract, Mr. Lhota issued an apology. He may or may not have been prompted by a chiding he received from one of Mr. Perkins's Senate colleagues, Adriano Espaillat. Here it is, broken down. Mr. Lhota, the city's former "rat czar" under Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, took issue with Mr. Perkins's assertion that the two worked together on rat issues at the dawn of the millennium. Mr. Espaillat, a Democratic colleague of Mr. Perkins's from the district next door, issued the following news release on Tuesday: Commissioner Lhota should be focused on improving subway services, not taking on elected officials. Last I checked, it was part of the M.T.A. commissioner's job to collaborate, not pick fights with state legislators. Commissioner Lhota's remarks in The New York Times are immature and counterproductive. Whether or not you agree with Senator Perkins," or any other senator's legislation, it's inappropriate to level personal attacks, instead of focusing on the issues. I urge Commissioner Lhota to offer Senator Perkins an apology and get back to work, fixing the M.T.A. Mr. Lhota issued this apology Tuesday afternoon: I would like to apologize to Senator Perkins for my comments in the NY Times today. Bill is an excellent legislator with great constituent services, and I share his commitment to addressing the problem of rat proliferation in New York City. Though we agree on many rat-related issues, we disagree on banning food on the subways. I have a great deal of respect for Senator Perkins. Mr. Perkins was in session in Albany on Tuesday afternoon and was not immediately available for comment on Mr. Lhota's apology. Everybody back to work.