At least three MTA employees secretly turned a storage room under a platform at the Grand Central Terminal into a private “man cave” complete with futons, TVs, exercise equipment, a fridge and a bed, the agency’s inspector general said on Thursday. .
MTA Inspector General Caroline Pokorni said in a statement that many New Yorkers have imagined kicking cold beer into the main part of Manhattan real estate – especially close to this good transport. “But few will have the guts to command a secret compartment beneath the Grand Central Terminal and build their own man-cave to sustain it with MTA resources, and maintain it at the expense of our riders.”
Photos: Secret ‘Man Cave’ found under Grand Central platform, 3 MTA employee busted
According to Pokarni’s office fees, the secret bead below Track 114 was hidden behind a locked door inside a large storage room.
The station management told investigators they were not aware of the physical existence of the room, less than how it was used. The security manager of Metro-North did not have a working key for the room, and the supervisor of the Lith Cosmith shop – who is not a licensed Laks Csmith – could not enter the room because only the real Lac Csmith had access.
Three employees – a wireman, a carpenter foreman and an electrical foreman – have been suspended without pending resolution of disciplinary cases.
In addition, the Inspector General’s Office said it determined it had failed to take any action to investigate the initial complaint about the Metro-North security room. The IG’s office began its own investigation more than a year ago after receiving several anonymous complaints.
In response to the report, Metro-North is now working on a project to implement the process to track all rooms in Grand Central – as well as how they are locked – and better complaints.
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