Thomas C. Zambito

The Journal News

Bar cart service will not resume until the probe is over, which could mean a dry holiday commute

18 commissary carts and two commissary counters at Grand Central went out of service on Dec. 7

Metro-North has suspended the sale of beer and alcohol on Grand Central Terminal platforms amid an investigation into missing funds, a probe that could lead to a dry holiday commute in the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Journal News/lohud.com has learned.

The investigation turned up an unspecified amount of money missing from the sale of beer and alcohol out of bar carts stationed at the front of passenger platforms at Grand Central, officials say. Three Metro-North employees have been taken out of service while the investigation continues.

Metro-North discovered the money missing when a vendor's complaint prompted a spot audit last month. The commuter rail enlisted the help of investigators from the office of MTA’s Inspector General Barry Kluger, who conducted a full-scale audit.

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“The investigation is ongoing,” Kluger said before declining to comment further.

The bar carts have not appeared on Grand Central platforms since Wednesday and officials say they are not sure when they will return.

"All 18 commissary carts and two commissary counters at Grand Central Terminal have been taken out of service as of Dec. 7 because of an ongoing investigation initiated by Metro-North,” Metro-North spokesman Aaron Donovan said. “They will remain closed while the investigation continues."

No criminal charges have been filed but in prior cases Kluger has shared the results of his investigation with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Alcohol sales were banned over much of the weekend for SantaCon, the beer-soaked pub crawl in New York City of revelers in Santa suits. But sales were supposed to resume Monday.

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On Monday, the area where the carts are usually positioned was deserted and passengers were informed that they would have to purchase alcoholic beverages inside the terminal.

Alcohol sales have long been a source of friction on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road.

At a November board meeting, board member Mitchell Pally, the chairman of the board’s Long Island Railroad committee, said the MTA should not sell alcohol in rail cars or in Grand Central Terminal because of the potential for liability issues, according to minutes of the meeting.

In 2014, Metro-North abandoned the sale of alcohol on its rail cars. In September, it was announced that the bar cars would be returning in Connecticut, along Metro-North’s New Haven line. No date has been set.

Calls to the bar cart vendors' union president, Jason Gennodie of the Transport Workers Union Local 2001 in Elmsford, were not returned.