Three railroad workers were reportedly suspended after they converted a break room under New York City’s Grand Central Terminal into a “man cave” complete with a futon, microwave and other accessories.
An investigation by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) found three Metro-North Railroad (MNR) employees turned an “unauthorized break room” into their personal “man cave,” to “hang out and get drunk and party.” The investigation’s report said the “man cave” had a “futon couch, a large screen television with a streaming device, a refrigerator, and a microwave.”
The investigation began in February 2019 after the MTA Inspector General (OIG) received an anonymous complaint about a “man cave” under track 114 where 3 specific employees would hang out and drink. The information was sent to MNR for investigation, but the OIG received a similar complaint months later in June.
In August of 2019, investigators went to check out the room. When they gained access to Room #14, the outer room contained locksmith supplies. However, within that room was another room that was locked. A handwritten note on the door read “foreman’s office,” but no one had a key to the second room, the report said.
Upon entry, they found a “wall-mounted flat screen television connected to a streaming device” as well as other items. They also found “half-consumed beer in the refrigerator and an empty can in the garbage.” (RELATED: ‘Cut The S**t’: NYC Metro Pays People Who Don’t Work, Spending Is Out Of Control, Transit President Says)
“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,” MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny said in a statement Thursday.
MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny issued the following statement on the man cave: pic.twitter.com/1xDlLQ7FsO
— MTA Inspector General (@mtaoig) September 24, 2020
“But few would have the chutzpah to commandeer a secret room beneath Grand Central Terminal & make it their very own man-cave, sustained with MTA resources, and maintained at our riders’ expense.”
Railroad officials said the “man cave” was a fire hazard since rescue workers would have had trouble accessing the room.