The mystery began early on May 5, when three people wearing hip waders and carrying flashlights walked to a manhole cover in the middle of a street in Queens, pried it open, and climbed down into the darkness. The event was caught on film. Aki Jakupovic, who witnessed the incident, told NBC New York: “I could tell they were up to no good. They went in there, closed the cover, like, you know, they were never here.” He added: “Three random guys walking around in a strange suit. Open the sewer, [and] go in like the Ninja Turtles.”
Two more groups were filmed entering the sewer system in Brooklyn on May 28 — first in south Brooklyn, then hours later in north Brooklyn. The New York Post, a tabloid, has covered the story extensively, branding those involved as “weirdos” and “creeps.”
The NYPD told the Guardian there was “no threat to public safety at this time” but said its intelligence division is investigating the sewer sojourns. Rob Wolejsza, a spokesperson for the New York Department of Environmental Protection, said in an email: “DEP has inspected the sewers at all locations, and our infrastructure is safe. DEP works closely with our public safety partners to help ensure the safety and security of critical infrastructure throughout New York City. Entering the sewer system is both illegal and extremely dangerous.”
Wolejsza added: “Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces. For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall.”
Local news outlets have speculated that the intruders may be scavenging for valuables in the city’s 7,400 miles of sewer pipes, accessible via around 5,000 manholes. The theory is not without precedent. In 2015, a trainee at the Department of Environmental Protection was arrested after being caught in the sewers. Last year, three men were arrested after entering the sewer system in Brooklyn, allegedly in an attempt to find gold. As far back as 1936, the New York Times reported that police had fished $3,500 from a Manhattan sewer.
Descending beneath New York’s streets is not a new phenomenon, even for habitation. Sociologist Terry Williams spent two decades visiting people who live in tunnels, hidden passageways and abandoned railroads, documenting their lives in the 2024 book Life Underground: Encounters with People Below the Streets of New York. Similarly, hundreds of people live in tunnels beneath Las Vegas, in passageways designed as storm drains. Last year, the non-profit Greater Good Charities estimated that 1,500 people live in 600 miles of tunnels and culverts under that city.
As the summer “silly season” takes hold, New Yorkers remain watchful for more footage of the nocturnal explorers — even if, as one observer noted, they may not quite match up to Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo.