Three people were seen entering a manhole in New York City on Sunday, marking at least the eighth sewer-diving incident in the city and on Long Island since May.
In the latest incident, three men were seen entering a manhole in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood shortly before 1 a.m. When police arrived at the scene, the men were gone.
Just last week on October 9, five people were spotted climbing out of a manhole on the Upper East Side. The group drove off in a black SUV, leaving behind shovels and other tools. Other sewer spelunking cases in the city have been reported outside Penn Station, in Williamsburg, in Bensonhurst, and in Gravesend.
Traversing NYC’s sewers seems to be on the rise, but what’s inspiring spelunkers to take the plunge?
Going for gold
Police and officials from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) say that sewer divers are likely entering the sewers as would-be treasure hunters, looking for lost valuables and scrap metal washed away during storms. While this is unsafe for the perpetrators, officials say it poses no threat to the public.
Treasure hunting is confirmed to have been the motivation for two men who were caught entering and leaving a manhole on the Upper East Side in September. Speaking to prosecutors, Detective Stephen Jones said that Kevin Rodriguez and Samuel Reveron, accused of trespassing, told him that they’d entered the manhole “to look for valuables that get washed away in the storm drains and sewers.”
Entering New York City’s sewers is both illegal and dangerous, officials say. A DEP spokesperson explained the risks to ABC after a sewer-diving incident in August.
“Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces,” the spokesperson said. “For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall.”
