The MTA has a secret censorship system for its bus and subway ads.
Its “advertising partner,” Outfront Media, sells the ads and pays the transit agency a cut of the revenue. The company has rejected some ads it deems a violation of the MTA’s standards.
Having a private company handle the ads lets the MTA dodge public-records law — and avoid controversial ads.
MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said the agency did not know that its contractor had rejected an ad for Dumbo Moving and Storage, which showed a scantily clad woman straddling a shirtless man, until Dumbo issued a press release protesting the refusal.
The company pays the MTA “up to 70 percent” of the ad sales, totaling $138 million last year, officials said. Outfront refused to give examples of shunned ads, calling its dealings with advertisers “proprietary.”
