MTA Workers Built Secret 'Man Cave' Under Grand Central Terminal

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Call it every New Yorker's fantasy: a trio of MTA workers converted a storage room under Grand Central Terminal into a "man cave" which they used to "hang out and get drunk and party," according to a new report from the MTA's Inspector General.

The three Metro-North Railroad employees were suspended without pay following the investigation, which began last year following two anonymous complaints, according to the report, which was released 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," Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny said in a statement.

"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."

One evening in August 2019, inspectors paid a visit to the hideout, which the complaint alleged was located past a locksmith's shop under Track 114. Within the locksmith's shop, the inspectors found a locked door, with a handwritten sign reading "foreman's office."

Inside the "office," inspectors found the man cave laid out exactly as described in the complaints, complete with a futon, a refrigerator, a microwave and a flat-screen TV connected to a streaming device. In the fridge, inspectors found a half-empty can of beer.

Several cabinets in and around the cave appeared custom-built to conceal the TV, the futon and a pullout cot right outside the room, the report found.

The three employees — a wireman, an electrical foreman and a carpenter foreman — denied using the room, but inspectors say they found evidence suggesting otherwise. An air mattress box had a receipt with the wireman's name on it, the TV connected to a WiFi hotspot on the carpenter's smartphone, and a pull-up bar bore the name of the electrical foreman.

The inspector general alleges that Metro-North failed to take any action on the first complaint the agency received about the man cave, and that its security team had no procedure for tracking the investigation.

Metro-North president Catherine Rinaldi said in a statement: "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."