NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Talk about a money train! A Queens woman avoided a significant financial blow – to the tune of $12,000 – after Long Island Rail Road workers recovered her lost backpack with the cash.
Juliet Barton – a Far Rockaway, Queens resident – left the bag with the large sum on a Babylon branch train Monday, MTA officials said at a news conference at the MTA Long Island Rail Road Jamaica Central Control building.
Barton got on a westbound train in Babylon before transferring at Freeport, at which point she realized her bag was missing, officials said.
A LIRR worker directed Barton to Penn Station, which houses the railroad's lost and found office, and she traveled there to report the backpack missing before returning home.
When recalling the experience Barton explained that she was traveling with the money to "protect" it.
She disclosed what the contents of her bag were to LIRR senior terminal manager John Persico on Tuesday when she went to check on the status of the search and noted that "He looked at me so concerned. Right away, I feel that love – like, he's going to help me now."
MTA employees examined the bags lost in the transit system the previous day and were able to trace one back to the same train Barton had been on in Babylon.
The backpack had been turned in by the train's conductor the day before: Now, it was reunited with Barton with every dollar intact.
MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Janno Lieber presented commendations to the team of transit workers who helped reunite Barton with her richly-filled backpack on Thursday, acknowledging that the five employees involved in the recovery "showed kindness and concern when faced with a passenger who was going through that kind of stressful situation."
"All of you exemplify public service in your roles," Lieber added. "I just want to thank you on behalf of the whole MTA family for what you say to the world about who we are and how we do our jobs."
Barton, who was present at the commendation, directly expressed her thanks to the employees, stating that they "were so nice to me, made me feel loved. I didn't even worry about the money no more. If I didn't get the money, I would still feel good, cause they were just doing it for me."
