LIRR's lost and found at Penn Station a sloppy operation, audit says

Items lost on a Long Island Rail Road train have a good chance of staying lost, according to a new report from the MTA's watchdog, who blasted the LIRR's lost and found operation as disorganized and careless.

The audit by the Office of Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General Barry Kluger stemmed from a complaint filed by one LIRR rider whose wallet was lost on a train and later discovered on the floor of the LIRR's lost and found office in Penn Station -- sans $200 in gift cards.

A subsequent investigation found the incident to be par for the course for the LIRR's lost and found department, which logged some 15,000 items in 2013 but is plagued by lax security, according to the audit.

"A rider who loses something of value, whether monetary or sentimental, has the right to expect that if the property is turned in to the Lost and Found Office, the office will safeguard and return it," Kluger said.

Among the investigation's findings: Valuable items, including jewelry and passports, are left in unlocked containers with no video surveillance; there is no requirement that LIRR employees sign in and out every time they access the storage area; and "cheap" items are often kept for nearly three times as long as the legally required 90 days, while expensive items are frequently sent to a contractor to be auctioned off well before the required 180 days.

"These high-value items mainly consisted of laptops, digital cameras, cellphones, and a few pieces of jewelry," the report said. "For items worth $100-$499, 42.9 percent were disposed of before the required 180-day period expired."

The report also criticized the general sloppiness of the LIRR's lost and found operation, including storage space that is "cramped and cluttered with no apparent organizational plan" and a database filled with "incomplete and inaccurate" information.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

In its formal response, the LIRR said it will adopt the recommendations made by Kluger, including that it install cameras in the storage area, ban unauthorized personnel from some areas, and keep high-value items under lock and key.

"We have already implemented some of those recommendations and are in the process of implementing others," MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said. "The Lost and Found is an important customer service, and our goal is to do a better job connecting customers with their lost property."

Huntington immigration attorney and LIRR commuter David Sperling said his dealings with the railroad's lost and found department have always turned out well, including in 2010 when the LIRR returned his wallet with $2,700 of his clients' money still inside.

"A few years later, I also left my iPhone on the train. Two days later, I knew exactly where to go -- the LIRR Lost and Found Office at Penn Station," Sperling said. "I found it after going through three bins of lost cellphones. Thank you, LIRR."

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.