Why do people keep crawling into NYC sewers? NYPD investigates latest manhole sighting near Penn Station
Three people were caught on video climbing out of a manhole near Manhattan's Penn Station last week, adding another chapter to a strange string of late-night encounters beneath New York City's streets. The New York Police Department said it is investigating the incident.
The trio, wearing overalls and headlamps, was recorded pulling themselves out of the underground access point and hurrying away. Reports indicate the sighting occurred around 4 a.m. Tuesday. Police said the sewers were inspected afterward.
This wasn't the first such sighting. Surveillance footage over the past few months has captured multiple groups slipping into or out of manholes across the city, according to the NYPD.
Two earlier cases in Brooklyn prompted police calls after witnesses reported people entering manholes. In one, the group resurfaced about three hours later. In the other, individuals reappeared after roughly two and a half hours, climbed into a vehicle, and drove off. At the time, authorities said there was no public threat and searched the underground tunnels.
What is driving the behavior remains unclear. A law enforcement official told NBC New York that the department's initial theory in the Brooklyn cases was that the trespassers were looking for valuables. Online, speculation has ranged from urban exploration to more outlandish ideas. But city officials say the practice is dangerous and illegal.
The Department of Environmental Protection has said in past statements that entering sewer systems is not only unlawful but "extremely dangerous." The agency lists several hazards beneath the streets: 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," the DEP said.
New York City's sewer network is among the most extensive in the country, spanning more than 7,400 miles of pipe beneath the five boroughs. That scale can make securing every access point difficult, and the repeated incidents have drawn fresh attention to how the city monitors manholes. Officials have not announced any changes to security or surveillance of sewer entrances.
For now, the NYPD has not said whether any arrests have been made or whether the latest group has been identified. The investigation remains open.