[CLSTR]
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [QUIET] · [CRIME]

6 clusters · 61 sources · 50 days · First seen · Last updated

Manhattan and NYC sewer manhole investigations

Overview

The NYPD is investigating a series of incidents involving individuals emerging from manholes across New York City. The most recent event, captured on video, occurred around 4:00 a.m. on August 18 near the intersection of 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue, close to Penn Station and Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The footage shows three individuals in black overalls and headlamps exiting the underground infrastructure before fleeing the scene. These sightings follow similar reports in Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Williamsburg and Gravesend, as well as in Astoria, Queens. Detectives believe these individuals may be “scavengers” searching the city’s extensive sewer network for valuables such as jewelry or lost wallets. Investigators have also noted a potential link to migrants searching for items within the sewage system. On a Monday morning in mid-September, a new incident was reported in Middle Village, Queens, near the intersection of Juniper Boulevard South and 74th Street. An individual, believed to be in his 20s and wearing a red and black bandana, was spotted emerging from a manhole around 4:00 a.m. He reportedly fled the scene alongside four other men who were surrounding the sewer. No arrests were made following this encounter. On Wednesday, September 24, police investigated an incident on Manhattan’s Upper East Side near Park Avenue and East 61st Street. Three individuals were seen climbing out of a sewer after reportedly entering the system through a subway access gate at East 63rd Street and Fifth Avenue. Surveillance footage showed the men fleeing in a silver sedan and a four-door vehicle. Authorities believe the group was searching for lost valuables or copper to resell. On Sunday, October 12, three men were observed entering a manhole on West 141st Street in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Manhattan; they disappeared before officers arrived.

Entities

Manhattan · New York City Police Department · NYPD · New York City Department of Environmental Protection · Madison Square Garden

Timeline

  1. [CRIME] 6 sources
    New York City police investigate multiple manhole incidents

    New York City police are investigating multiple recent incidents of individuals entering and exiting manholes in Manhattan and Brooklyn, suspected to be urban scavengers looking for valuables.

  2. [CRIME] 2 sources
    New York City police investigate five individuals emerging from Upper East Side manhole

    Five unidentified individuals emerged from a manhole on New York City's Upper East Side early Friday morning, continuing a series of unusual sewer-diving incidents in the city.

  3. [CRIME] 9 sources
    Manhattan police investigate men climbing out of Upper East Side sewer

    Police are investigating three men seen emerging from a Manhattan sewer on the Upper East Side, believed to be part of a pattern of scavenging for valuables and metal.

  4. [CRIME] 2 sources
    Queens manhole sighting adds to series of NYC sewer mysteries

    A person was seen emerging from a manhole in Queens, adding to a series of recent sightings of individuals scavenging in New York City's sewer system.

  5. [CRIME] 9 sources
    Manhattan manhole incidents prompt NYPD investigation

    The NYPD is investigating multiple incidents where groups of people wearing headlamps and overalls were filmed emerging from manholes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, possibly scavenging for valuables.

  6. [CRIME] 37 sources
    Manhattan manhole incident prompts NYPD investigation into suspected sewer scavengers

    The NYPD is investigating a video showing three people in headlamps emerging from a Manhattan manhole near Penn Station, suspected to be scavenging for valuables in the city's sewer system.

Sources

6abc.com · abc11.com · abc7.com · abc7chicago.com · abc7news.com · abc7ny.com · aztecapuebla.com · biz.heraldcorp.com · cafebiz.vn · celebitchy.com · chosunonline.com · classixphilly.com · cretaone.gr · e-thessalia.gr · eldiariony.com · epochtimes.com · ethnos.gr · europesays.com · faz.net · fehmarn24.de · freerepublic.com · gargalianoionline.gr · hna.de · ibtimes.co.uk · iefimerida.gr · ieidiseis.gr · in.gr · internewscast.com · it-boltwise.de · kenh14.vn · kurierverlag.de · matzav.com · me.mashable.com · nbcnews.com · nbcpalmsprings.com · news.yahoo.com · nypost.com · offthepress.com · oliverwillis.com · paraskhnio.gr · pelop.gr · protothema.gr · pulptastic.com · reader.gr · san.com · seacoastoldies.com · sigmalive.com · spacemoney.com.br

This summary has been updated 7 times: see revision history