New York police are investigating a series of bizarre incidents where groups of people have been seen emerging from manholes across the city at night. The probe follows the circulation of multiple social media videos showing individuals climbing out of sewer systems in Brooklyn and Queens.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) stated that their Emergency Services Unit entered the sewer system to check for threats but found nothing. The city's Environmental Protection Department also inspected and reported no damage to equipment. A senior law enforcement official suggested the men might be searching for valuables in the sewage.
Police were first alerted last Thursday at around 11pm in the Gravesend neighbourhood of Brooklyn, where a witness saw eight people remove a manhole cover near McDonald Avenue and Colin Place. The group emerged three hours later, changing clothes beside parked cars, according to the NYPD.
About two hours later, another call reported people entering a manhole near Heyward Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Authorities said the group resurfaced after two and a half hours and drove away. Video obtained by Williamsburg 365 showed seven people climbing out, with the last person closing the cover.
The incidents echo a similar event on 5 May in Astoria, Queens, where residents reported several people opening a manhole at around 2am near 20th Avenue and 36th Street. Witness Aki Jakupovic described seeing three men in strange suits entering the sewer like “Ninja Turtles”. Surveillance footage showed them carrying flashlights and wearing hip waders.
