Leave the Peppermint Schnapps at the North Pole: No Booze on LIRR, Metro North for SantaCon
When it comes to the incoming happy-go-lucky throngs of St. Nick impersonators–or the weary commuters that may find themselves stuck amongst the festivities–MTA Police Chief John Mueller said that ensuring safe travel is a “top priority.” Boozing on the LIRR is also banned. 2023’s SantaCon will kick off in earnest on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 9.
| 08 Dec 2023 | 12:29
Beware, sleigh enthusiasts and North Pole elves. If you are donning the garb of St. Nick and coming to NYC’s SantaCon, you will not be allowed to drink on mass transit heading into the metropole. The MTA’s Metro-North and the LIRR have strictly banned all booze consumption for Christmas-themed straphangers, including on train platforms. Summons will be issued for those that break the rules. Drinks will be confiscated. Stubborn violators will be thrown out of train stations entirely.
Drinking is already verboten for MTA commuters that use the city’s bus and subway system, meaning that the ban is undoubtedly targeting revelers surging in from out-of-town. It will reportedly last from 4 a.m. on December 9 until noon on December 10. It’s well-known by New Yorkers that certain festively-clad Santas and Mrs. Clauses party well into the evening, indicating that late arrivals will have plenty of time to get raucous after disembarking the train.
MTA Police Chief John Mueller clarified the rationale behind the drinking ban in a statement, noting that “ensuring everyone has access to safe and orderly travel is a top priority. 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.”
Depending on who you ask, NYC’s version of SantaCon–which started in 1998–has been either the ultimate holiday bender or an unqualified nightmare for locals. Essentially an annual weekend bar-crawl featuring partiers dressed up as the beloved Christmas gift-giver, with mini-skirted Mr. Clauses or elves is widely associated with outsized public drunkenness. The original SantaCon kicked off in San Francisco in 1994, and has since spread worldwide.
Some bars in the city specifically ban Santa (and all his helpers) from entering the premises, with a few local community boards historically succeeding in convincing celebrants not to come to their neighborhoods.
In a memorable letter issued by Community Board 4–which encompasses Manhattan’s West Side–in 2014, SantaCon was described as a once-benign “performance-art piece” that had transformed into a “neighborhood scourge.”
The Board further remarked that “at any large event, a few bad actors may disrupt an otherwise orderly affair, but at previous SantaCon’s bad actors have hardly been the exception.”
For those drinking responsibly, a map of participating watering holes can be found on a digital app created by santacon.nyc. The “6 F’s” of SantaCon, identified as things that merrymakers are instructed not to f*** [or mess around] with, are: cops, kids, bar staff, yourself, NYC, and Santa’s Charity Mission.
The charity mission will be bolstered by those buying a $15 ticket at the beginning of the bar route, while will provide access to special drinking establishments. Charitable individuals will receive a Santa Badge, which will function as a sort of ID to get into these exclusive venues. Do your research on what the organization’s charity mission funds before donating.