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MTA banning alcohol on Metro-North, LIRR trains for SantaCon weekend

mta-banning-alcohol-on-metro-north,-lirr-trains-for-santacon-weekend
MTA banning alcohol on Metro-North, LIRR trains for SantaCon weekend

The MTA is once again pooh-poohing on New York’s ho ho ho-ing.

SantaCon is coming to town this weekend — and the transit authority is attempting to control the chaos by banning alcohol consumption on Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road trains for 32 hours.

“Our top priority is ensuring that Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road riders can celebrate safely,” MTA Police Chief John Mueller said in a statement Tuesday.

A man drinks a tiny liquor bottle at SantaCon.

The MTA announced its annual alcohol ban on Metro-North and LIRR trains for SantaCon weekend. James Keivom

“The holiday season is a wonderful time of year, and we want everyone to get to their destination smoothly and on time while enjoying the festivities.”

The ban will start at 4 a.m. Saturday — providing a six-hour cushion before the frenzied festivities are scheduled to begin — and will last through noon Sunday.

The prohibition also extends to all station platforms and train cars.

The MTA is also beefing up its police presence for the boozy crawl, particularly at Penn Station, Grand Central Madison, and Grand Central Terminal.

People dressed as Santa Claus ride the subway for the annual bar crawl SantaCon on December 14, 2019.

The ban will start six hours before Manhattan is slated to be swarmed with parties dressed as Santa, elves, reindeer and other holiday costumes. Getty Images

Naughty Santas caught sneaking in sips will be slapped with summonses and could be removed from the train, the MTA warned.

This is the 12th year the MTA has implemented the drinking prohibition on SantaCon weekend, which typically draws 30,000 partiers to the Big Apple from throughout New York and surrounding states.

The event bills itself as “a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy” — but is much more famous for sending hundreds of blitzed Santas getting sick in the streets and igniting brawls between elves.

A girl drinking in public during SantaCon.

The ban was first implemented in 2012. Stephen Yang

The Christmas-themed bar crawl, which started in 1998, turned into a charitable organization in 2014 after the NYPD asked promoters to crack down on drunken fighting.

But a report last year found that less than a fifth of the $1.4 million SantaCon raised between 2014 and 2022 was handed over to registered charities.

According to SantaCon organizers, this year’s $15 tickets will go directly toward a plethora of charities, including City Harvest, Clowns Without Borders, the Burning Man Project and more.

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