NEW YORK — Strange nighttime activities in New York City have left residents and authorities scratching their heads as surveillance footage captures multiple groups of people climbing in and out of the city’s underground sewer network through street manholes.
At least three separate incidents have been recorded by security cameras showing people accessing sewer tunnels via maintenance openings on streets throughout Brooklyn and Queens during overnight hours.
One particularly striking video from early Friday captured approximately seven individuals emerging from a manhole cover directly in a Williamsburg, Brooklyn intersection while vehicles drove past. Several wore headlamps and appeared to be carrying shovels along with other equipment. One person nearly got struck by a car while climbing out of the opening.
Another recording showed about seven people surfacing from a manhole around 2 a.m. on a quiet Gravesend, Brooklyn street. The group walked to nearby parked vehicles where they retrieved clean clothing to change into. According to police, this group had descended into the sewers around 11 p.m., suggesting they spent roughly three hours below ground.
A third incident on May 5 showed three individuals wearing waterproof hip waders and protective equipment forcing open a manhole cover before climbing down into the sewer system on a Queens street. The final person replaced the cover as approaching vehicles came to a halt.
Aki Jakupovic, who owns an auto detailing business, reported that his shop’s security system captured the sewer explorers. While he couldn’t speculate about their underground activities, he expressed concern they were “up to no good.”
The city Department of Environmental Protection conducted inspections of the sewer systems at both Brooklyn sites and confirmed no damage occurred to the infrastructure. Officials said the Queens incident remains under review.
Rob Wolejsza, a department spokesperson, emphasized that sewer entry violates the law and poses serious safety risks.
“Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces,” Wolejsza said in a statement. “For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall.”
The warning comes after a woman died last month when she fell through an open manhole on a busy midtown Manhattan street. Utility workers determined a truck had displaced the cover.
Police officials stated they don’t consider the incidents a public safety threat after thoroughly examining the affected areas. No injuries have been reported and no arrests made, though the investigation continues.
At the busy Williamsburg intersection where one group was spotted, resident Anthony Purdie expressed skepticism that simple curiosity motivated the nighttime sewer exploration.
“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. I mean, seven grown adults going down there? Got to be something, man.”
