Mysterious sewer entries in New York City spark investigation

People keep popping out of New York City sewers — and no one knows why.

The guesses have run the gamut. Social media users have joked about wannabe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Super Mario brothers or “mole people” who live underground.

Some have speculated that it’s the latest influencer stunt. Meanwhile, New York Police Department detectives have appeared to suggest that it was migrants scavenging underground for supplies.

While the incidents have been going on for months, the most recent occurred near Madison Square Garden August 18.

Footage, posted on TikTok, showed three men wearing black waders and headlamps climbing out of a manhole around 4:20 a.m. near the corner of West 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, and running away.

The NYPD confirmed to The Independent that it is aware of the incident and is investigating. No arrests have been made.

The bizarre sighting follows at least three other alarming instances of people climbing out of New York sewers this year — potentially representing a troubling trend of covert underground escapades.

Several people were seen descending into a manhole in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn at 11 p.m. May 28, before emerging around 2 a.m. and fleeing in waiting vehicles.

Some of those people appeared to be holding flashlights and wearing waders, gloves and heavy-duty boots typically used in wet or hazardous environments. Footage shows the group then removed their dirty gear and loaded it into two parked cars before driving away.

Another incident unfolded in a different part of Brooklyn that same morning.

Security footage captured around seven people in Williamsburg wearing headlamps, carrying shovels and other tools while entering a manhole around 1 a.m. May 29. Some of those people emerged around 3:40 a.m. and left the area in a waiting vehicle.

At least four people were charged with trespassing in those incidents. NYPD sources told The New York Post that the group had been searching underground for valuables, although what hidden treasures lie beneath the streets of New York remain a mystery.

In Queens, three people wearing waterproof hip waders and protective gear were caught on surveillance video opening a manhole and climbing down into the sewer system May 5. The last person pulled the cover shut as approaching cars stopped ahead of the manhole.

The security footage came from an auto-detailing shop owned by Aki Jakupovic, who told the Associated Press he didn’t know what the group was doing underground, but suspected that they might be “up to no good.”

Authorities have not said whether the most recent incident is connected to any of the earlier ones.

No one is exactly sure why so many people seem keen on entering the sprawling New York sewer system, which sees hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater rush through it each day along with rats, cockroaches and other grimy material.

But people have theories.

Detectives have hypothesized that a portion of the underground visitors are migrants scouring the sewer system for items of value. ABC7 reported Tuesday that NYPD detectives had learned of a scavenger culture in Venezuela, for example. The city saw an influx of Venezuelan migrants beginning in 2022.

The NYPD declined to comment on this theory when asked by The Independent this week.

Others believe it’s simply a cynical social media ploy to go viral. Police sources suggested to The New York Post that could be a possibility since the incident was caught on camera so early in the morning.

But that suggestion belies the nocturnal nature of New Yorkers. Ricardy Fabre, who recorded the video on his phone, told Gothamist he was waiting outside MSG for concert tickets when he captured the incident.

TikTok users have their own theories about what was happening.

“Both of my parents are born and raised New Yorkers and they were social workers in the 80s my mom said there are tunnel people. Yes absolutely some live under there full-time,” one person commented on the TikTok video.

“They are looking for gold or valuables in the drains sounds crazy but many people are in it,” another TikTok user speculated.

“I’m not getting why this isn’t being taken more seriously. We [are] at war and ninja turtles plotting in the sewers. Come on NYC authorities,” another commenter joked.

Others were also quick to joke about the incident, sharing gifs of the animated Ninja Turtles, Mario Bros. and Minions characters.

“You all act like you never saw Mario and Luigi before. They are on the move tonight,” one TikTok user joked.

City officials stress that entering manholes is not only illegal but incredibly dangerous.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the massive network of wastewater and stormwater pipes below the Big Apple, says it inspected the sewers following the most recent incident and found no threat to the infrastructure.

“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. Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces,” a Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson told The Independent.

“Members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall,” the spokesperson added.