One midtown bar plans to help some of its longtime patrons if LIRR workers walk off their jobs Sunday.
Bob Baker, a manager for Blarney Rock Pub at 137 W 33rd St., said he and his fellow managers will assist Long Island customers with lodging and travel arrangements in case of a strike.
Baker said during past transit crises, like the 2005 subway strike and Superstorm Sandy, his staff has always come to the aid of its customers, half of whom use the LIRR, he estimates.
“We will do everything we can to help,” said Baker who’s been working at Blarney Rock for 17 years. “That’s the New York spirit.”
Baker said he helped make arrangements with 17 of his longtime Long Island patrons, so far, to stay in motels in Secaucus and chartered a Bolt bus to take them every day to the east side. The customers will pay for the bill of all the services.
Baker said working with the motels and bus company over the pending arrangements wasn’t too hard since they set up a similar arrangement during the Super Bowl.
“There is a template set and they have been cooperative,” Baker said of the bar’s connections.
He said his team, who all live in the city, will lock down the motel and rooms only if the strike is finalized and would only offer it to patrons who’ve had a strong relationship with the bar in the past.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed that this doesn’t happen but you never know,” he said.
