A series of bizarre sightings involving groups of people entering and exiting New York City's vast sewer system has left residents and authorities perplexed. Security cameras have captured at least three nighttime incidents in Brooklyn and Queens where individuals were seen using maintenance holes to access the underground tunnels.
Recent Incidents
In one video from early Friday morning in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a group of about seven people emerged from a maintenance hole in the middle of an intersection, narrowly avoiding a passing vehicle. Some wore headlamps and carried tools like shovels. Another video from Gravesend, Brooklyn, showed a similar group emerging around 2 a.m., changing clothes from parked cars after reportedly spending three hours underground. On May 5, three individuals in waterproof gear pried open a maintenance hole cover in Queens and descended, with the last person pulling the cover shut as cars approached.
Public Concern
Aki Jakupovic, owner of an auto detailing shop, captured the Queens incident on his surveillance cameras. He expressed concern that the group might be “up to no good.” The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspected the sewers in Brooklyn and found no damage, but the Queens case remains under investigation.
Rob Wolejsza, a DEP spokesperson, emphasized the dangers of entering sewers, citing hazards such as toxic gases, unstable surfaces, flooding, and confined spaces. “Members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall,” he stated.
Ongoing Investigation
Police have conducted thorough sweeps and believe there is no threat to public safety. No injuries or arrests have been reported. However, residents like Anthony Purdie from Williamsburg suspect the groups had ulterior motives. “They look like they were looking for something important, like money, or for doing some type of hurting,” he said. “Ain’t no fun and games. Seven grown adults going down there? Got to be something, man.”
The incidents come after a woman died last month after falling into an open maintenance hole in midtown Manhattan, which utility officials said was dislodged by a truck. The investigation into the sewer intruders continues.
