New York police investigate mysterious groups emerging from manholes
Consensus Summary
New York police are investigating a series of unexplained incidents where groups of people have entered and exited the city’s sewer system through maintenance holes in Brooklyn and Queens since early May 2026. The first recorded event occurred on 5 May in Astoria, Queens, when three individuals in hip waders and carrying flashlights descended into a sewer at around 2am. Two further incidents in late May involved eight people in Gravesend and seven in Williamsburg, both emerging hours after entering. Surveillance footage shows the groups changing clothes, carrying tools, and in one case, nearly being struck by a vehicle. Authorities, including the NYPD and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, have inspected the sewers and found no damage or immediate threat to public safety, though the investigation remains ongoing. Theories include scavenging for valuables, though no arrests or injuries have been reported. The incidents have drawn public fascination, with comparisons to fictional characters like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and media labeling the individuals as 'creeps' or 'weirdos'. Both the NYPD and DEP have emphasized the dangers of entering sewers, citing risks like deadly gases and unstable surfaces.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Three people entered a sewer via a maintenance hole near 20th Avenue and 36th Street in Astoria, Queens, at about 2am on 5 May 2026, wearing hip waders and carrying flashlights.
- Eight people emerged from a maintenance hole near McDonald Avenue and Colin Place in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood around 2am on 28 May 2026, after entering at 11pm.
- Seven people emerged from a maintenance hole near Heyward Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, around 2:30am on 28 May 2026, after entering at 11:30pm.
- The NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection inspected the sewers at Brooklyn locations and found no damage to infrastructure.
- No arrests or injuries have been reported in connection with the incidents.
- The NYPD investigation is ongoing, with no confirmed threat to public safety.
- The NYC Department of Environmental Protection warned that entering sewers is illegal and extremely dangerous due to hazards like noxious gases, unstable surfaces, and confined spaces.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- A senior law enforcement official suggested one theory is that the individuals were 'scouring the system for valuables that get into the sewage'.
- The New York Post branded the individuals as 'weirdos' and 'creeps' in its coverage.
- The incidents were compared unfavorably to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who live in the sewer system in fiction.
- A 2015 case involved a trainee at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection being arrested for entering the sewers, and in 2025, three men were arrested for allegedly searching for gold in Brooklyn sewers.
- The sociologist Terry Williams documented people living in tunnels in his 2024 book *Life Underground: Encounters with People Below the Streets of New York*.
- Greater Good Charities estimated 1,500 people live in 600 miles of tunnels under Las Vegas.
- A group of seven people in Williamsburg narrowly missed getting run over by a vehicle while emerging from a maintenance hole.
- Some individuals were seen wearing headlamps and carrying shovels and other tools in the Williamsburg incident.
- Resident Anthony Purdie suggested the group 'looked like they were looking for something important, like money, or for doing some type of hurting'.
- Last month, a woman fell into an open maintenance hole in midtown Manhattan and died after a truck dislodged the cover.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian states the first incident in Queens involved three people, while ABC does not specify the number of people in that incident but focuses on later Brooklyn cases.
- The Guardian mentions the NYPD was first alerted to the Gravesend incident on 28 May, while ABC does not explicitly state the date for the Gravesend report but confirms the timeline of events.
Source Articles
New York police investigate mysterious cases of people coming out of manholes
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