NEW YORK — A longstanding urban legend in New York City states that blind, albino alligators roam through the city’s extensive sewer system. But some residents in the Big Apple have been caught on video popping in and out of sewer manholes.
New video released by the New York City Police Department shows a group of people in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens on May 5, wearing hip waders and carrying flashlights as they approach a manhole, The Associated Press reported.
The group opened up the manhole just before 2 a.m. ET and went underground.
“I was looking at them, they were looking at me, you know, I could tell they were up to no good,” Aki Jakupovic, the owner of an auto detailing shop, told WNBC. “They went in there, closed the cover, like, you know, they were never here.”
“Three random guys walking around in a strange suit. Open the sewer, go in like the Ninja Turtles.”
Mystery men who are “up to no good” have been roaming New York City’s vast sewer system, and city officials warn potential copycats of dangers they’d face exploring the underground. https://t.co/rCwalSqkeh
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 2, 2026
In late May, there were two more instances of sewer diving, according to the television station.
On May 28, eight people were seen going through a manhole in the middle of the night in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. A second incident was reported to police an hour later farther south in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn, the NYPD told WNBC.
New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection said it inspected the sewers at both Brooklyn locations and found no damage, WABC reported. The incident in Queens remains under investigation, according to the television station.
Rob Wolejsza, the department’s spokesperson, said that entering the sewers is not only illegal, but also “extremely dangerous.”
[ Woman dies after falling into NYC manhole while exiting vehicle ]
“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.”
On May 18, a woman died after falling into a manhole while exiting her vehicle on a busy Manhattan street.
Utility officials said the cover had been dislodged by a truck, the AP reported.
On Tuesday, at the intersection in Williamsburg where the second group was spotted, resident Anthony Purdie said he was not convinced that the sewer divers were in it for the thrill.
“They look like they were looking for something important, like money, or for doing some type of hurting,” Purdie told the AP. “Ain’t no fun and games.
“I mean, seven grown adults going down there? Got to be something, man.”
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