The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating a bizarre mystery involving groups of people emerging from the city's manholes in recent weeks. The investigation follows the circulation of multiple social media videos showing individuals climbing out of sewer systems across the city, all in the middle of the night.
On Monday, the NYPD told NBC in a statement: "The NYPD, to make sure there was not a threat to the public, sent their highly trained Emergency Services Unit officers into the sewer system to make sure nothing nefarious had been left behind by the individuals – nothing was found." The statement added that the city's Environmental Protection Department, which manages the system, also inspected and found no damage to the sewer system equipment. No arrests or injuries have been reported.
A senior law enforcement official told NBC that one theory investigators are considering is that the individuals are "scouring the system for valuables that get into the sewage."
First Incident in Brooklyn
Police were first alerted to the unusual activity last Thursday at about 11 p.m., according to NBC New York. A witness reported seeing eight people remove a maintenance hole cover near McDonald Avenue and Colin Place in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn. According to the NYPD, the individuals were seen emerging from the maintenance hole roughly three hours later. Video shared on social media showed eight people climbing out of the sewer system and changing clothes beside several parked cars.
Second Incident in Williamsburg
About two hours after the initial Gravesend report, police received another call about several people entering a maintenance hole near Heyward Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Authorities said the group resurfaced more than two-and-a-half hours later before getting into a car and driving away, NBC New York reported. Video obtained by Williamsburg 365 showed seven people climbing out of the maintenance hole, with the last person closing the cover behind them.
Earlier Incident in Queens
The incidents are reminiscent of a similar episode on May 5, when residents in Astoria, Queens, reported seeing several people open a maintenance hole cover at about 2 a.m. near 20th Avenue and 36th Street. Speaking to NBC New York, witness Aki Jakupovic said: "Three random guys walking around in a strange suit, open the sewer, go in like Ninja Turtles." Surveillance footage obtained by NBC New York showed the men carrying flashlights and wearing hip waders. "I was looking at them, they were looking at me, you know, I could tell they were up to no good. They went in there, closed the cover, like, you know, they were never here," he added.
It remains unclear whether the incidents are connected. The Guardian has reached out to NYPD for additional comment.
