3 railroad workers suspended after 'man cave' found under New York's Grand Central Terminal

Three Metro-North Railroad employees were suspended after Metropolitan Transportation Authority investigators discovered they'd created a “man cave,” complete with a flat-screen television and a beer-stocked refrigerator, in a storage room beneath Grand Central Terminal in New York.

The air-conditioned room came complete with microwave, workout equipment, and hide-a-way beds, MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny said Thursday.

“Many a New Yorker has fantasized about kicking back with a cold beer in a prime piece of Manhattan real estate — especially one this close to good transportation,” Pokorny said. “But few would have the chutzpah to commandeer a secret room beneath Grand Central Terminal and make it their very own man-cave, sustained with MTA resources, and maintained at our riders’ expense.”

The room, located beneath Track 114 at Grand Central, was discovered behind a locked door inside a storage room after MTA investigators were tipped to its existence by an anonymous tip about a spot where Metro-North employees "hang out and get drunk and party."

When investigators questioned employees about the room, they were told it contained “sensitive supplies.” It had once been used to store locksmith supplies.

Inside, they found customized wooden boxes used to disguise the futon and flat screen TV and personal items linked to three Metro-North employees — a wireman, a carpenter foreman and an electrical foreman.

A streaming device connected to a hotspot was linked back to the carpenter foreman’s phone. And there was a receipt for an air mattress with the wireman’s name on it. A shipping sticker on a pull-up bar included the electrical foreman’s name.

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When questioned, each of the employees denied using the room, the Inspector General's report says. The electrical foreman told investigators: “You can’t tell me I can’t watch TV during my break.”

The employees’ names were not revealed in the report. They’ve been suspended without pay and are facing disciplinary charges.

A Metro-North supervisor who lied to investigators about the whereabouts of one of the employees could also face discipline, Pokorny said.

Grand Central Terminal managers were not aware of the room’s existence. It did not even appear in a map of the building.

The MTA is the parent agency of Metro-North, which has its headquarters at Grand Central.

The Inspector General first learned of the possible existence of the room in February 2019 when an anonymous tip complained about a “man cave” where three employees “hang out and get drunk and party.”

Investigators forwarded the complaint to Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi, who sent it on to Metro-North’s security team. Several months went by when the Inspector General received another complaint in June 2019.

Metro-North's security heads claimed they investigated the complaint and could not substantiate it, a claims investigator refuted.

“However, the OIG found that the complaints were not investigated and MNR Security does not have a formal way of tracking the investigation and disposition of the complaints it receives from the MNR President’s Office,” the report noted.

The report said the room was a safety hazard.

“The risks associated with employees hiding in that room with the door locked create a variety of hazards including the inability of rescue personnel to quickly access the room,” the report noted. “And, in fact, those risks were apparent in how long the OIG waited for a locksmith to respond to the room to open the door.”

In response, Metro-North said it will be create a formal method for tracking complaints to its security office. And it will create an inventory of all rooms located inside Grand Central Terminal.

“That inventory will document the rooms that are used, which department is responsible for each room, the type of door and lock for each room, permitted access to rooms, and the value of items stored in rooms,” Metro-North said.

Rinaldi said the three employees were suspended without pay and will be "disciplined in accordance with their collective bargaining agreements."

“The behavior described in the IG’s report is outrageously inappropriate and is not consistent with Metro-North’s values and the commitment that we have to providing safe, reliable and cost-efficient service to our customers," Rinaldi said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 'Man cave' with beer, TV found under New York's Grand Central Terminal