What it’s like to go inside New York City’s dank, dangerous, bug-filled sewers
NEW YORK (AP) — It wasn’t mice. Or smells. Or germs.
No, according to former urban explorer Steve Duncan, the most unpleasant part of descending into New York City’s vast sewer system were the cockroaches.
“They’re everywhere, crawling on the walls, falling on you,” Duncan recalled this week. “They were the worst.”
Duncan, 48, who now lives in Maryland, described his years documenting the mud-filled tunnels passing under New York as follows: surveillance videos He recently caught small groups of people mysteriously moving in and out of sewer systems in Brooklyn and Queens.
Police said they were still investigating the three incidents but did not believe there was any threat to the public. Authorities emphasize that entering buildings in the city is both illegal and dangerous. 7,400 miles (12,000 kilometers) of sewer pipes.
Duncan believes the groups were likely explorers like himself who crossed the massive 19th-century sewer network that runs beneath parts of the city.
These relatively cavernous spaces can exceed 6 feet in diameter — tall enough for most people to comfortably walk upright — and may contain handmade bricks and elegant arches, he said.
One of the groups, including one near where the sighting was seen, traces the paths of naturally occurring waterways that once sustained New York before industrialization polluted them and forced city builders to turn them into sewers, Duncan said.
“These ancient streams are being buried underground as cities grow around them,” he explained. “It’s amazing how much of this ancient natural environment is part of the city today.”
Going underground requires planning
Videos show some groups spending up to three hours underground; This is an unimaginable amount of time; But sewer journeys are quick, Duncan said, as they require navigating slippery, damp environments and flowing water that can be 30 centimeters or more deep in places.
Duncan credits the groups with choosing the best time for their trip.
Heavy rains in the previous days would have largely cleared the system, and the risk of entering the tunnels in the early morning meant that the waste flow would be noticeably less than during peak daylight hours.
“They did their research,” Duncan said.
But invisible dangers lurk in these pathogen-rich environments, he said, and described how he was hospitalized with badly infected extremities on two separate occasions, eventually pushing him to retire.
Experienced explorers will often bring gas meters to check for dangerous levels of fumes, including the potentially flammable hydrogen sulfide produced by decomposition, Duncan said.
As for the smell of all that waste, Duncan said it’s not as strong as you might think.
“If it’s a well-functioning sewer, it smells more like a barn or compost pile,” he said. “But when it’s bad, it can smell like death.”
Motivation of underground explorers raises questions
Some residents worry that the mysterious explorers caught on video are up to no good. Many wore waterproof boots and were equipped with headlamps, shovels and other tools.
“Sewers can serve as entry or exit points into buildings, and we’ve all seen movies where criminals escape prison through sewers,” said Magued Iskander, an engineering professor at New York University. “There must be a reason beyond excitement for going into a dirty place like a sewer.”
Others stated that police occasionally caught those searching for treasure underground.
Three other men were charged with burglary and other charges last year after going searching for gold, jewelry and other valuables in a Brooklyn sewer. Ten years ago, police caught three more men. came out of the maintenance holeThey included a worker for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the sewer system.
David Sarni, a retired New York Police Department detective and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, said the viral videos underscore how vulnerable some of the city’s vital infrastructure is.
“Is this something that could be exploited by people who want to do harm?” he said. “You really shouldn’t take anything for granted and unfortunately you always have to think about that downside.”
Duncan, who now works in real estate, said neither wealth nor evil motivated him and many of his generation of urban explorers.
During his trips to underground passages in New York, London, Paris and elsewhere in the early 2000s, he rarely found anything of value other than the odd credit card or tattered wallet.
“These are scary places that require a lot of planning and dedication to discover safety,” Duncan said. “You wouldn’t do all this for the chance to find a tiny diamond earring.”
“The main reason is to see something new or experience the city in a different way,” he continued. “That’s the real attraction.”
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Associated Press video journalist Joseph Frederick in New York contributed to this story.
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