Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

WTF? MTA Nixes Subway Ads Critical of Service Cuts, Michael Bloomberg

By Michael P. Ventura | March 31, 2010 11:16am | Updated on March 31, 2010 11:12am

MANHATTAN — The MTA has refused to run ads on subways and buses that look like service advisories but really are critical of the agency and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The ads, created by the Working Families Party, display subway symbols to form text message shorthand — WTF? and OMFG — that blast "Service Nightmares," the Daily News reported.

They also go on to say that Bloomberg has been "missing in action" on his campaign pledge to fix the MTA. The cash-strapped agency recently approved a doomsday budget that eliminates the W and the V subway lines and numerous bus routes to fill an $800 million gap.

"We were really hoping to put some pressure on the mayor," Working Families Party spokesman Bryan Collinsworth told the News.  "We think he controls a central piece of the puzzle."

The party was looking to spend up to $50,000 on a four-week ad run, the News reported.

The MTA rejected the ads because they thought some riders might find them "offensive, improper or in bad taste," agency spokesman Kevin Ortiz told the News.