The New York Police Department is now investigating grainy videos that appear to show men emerging from the city’s sewer system. The footage, which surfaced on social media late Tuesday, has sent shockwaves through the political and media establishment. The NYPD has confirmed they are treating the sightings as credible, though they have not yet identified the individuals or their purpose.
Sources close to the investigation tell me the videos were first flagged by a transit worker near a manhole cover in Lower Manhattan. In the clips, two men are seen climbing out of the sewer, looking around, and then walking briskly away. The time stamps suggest this happened around 3 a.m. No one has claimed responsibility, and the NYPD is keeping tight-lipped about any leads.
This is a story that plays into every populist fear about the hidden networks beneath our cities. For years, conspiracy theorists have whispered about a secret subway system or a mole people society. But this is no fringe theory now. This is a matter for the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit.
I spent the morning calling contacts in City Hall and the police union. One detective, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me: “We’ve seen nothing like this. These men weren’t maintenance workers. They were dressed in dark clothing, no ID, no tools. They knew exactly where they were going.” The implication is clear: either this is a prank by someone with access to the sewers, or it is something more sinister.
Mayor Eric Adams is facing questions. His office issued a brief statement: “The NYPD is investigating. We take any unusual activity seriously.” That is not enough for the city council. A senior council member, who asked not to be named, told me: “We need transparency. The public has a right to know if there are unauthorised individuals using our infrastructure.” The political pressure is building.
This story has legs. Every news outlet is chasing it. The tabloids are already splashing headlines about “Sewer Gators” and “Underground Terrorists”. But the inside-baseball question is this: who are these men, and what were they doing? Were they activists mapping the sewers? Were they criminals using the tunnels for transport? Or is this something linked to a foreign intelligence operation?
I put a call into a former MI6 officer who now consults on urban infrastructure security. He laughed when I mentioned the videos. “The sewers of any major city are a blind spot,” he said. “They are not secure. In New York, you can access the subway, the sewers, and even some private buildings through the same tunnels. It is a national security risk that has been neglected for decades.”
The NYPD is now reviewing footage from hundreds of street-level cameras. They are also checking with the Department of Environmental Protection to see if any maintenance teams were scheduled near that manhole. I am told the results so far are negative. No records of any authorised entry.
This is a developing story. I will have more as it breaks. But the key takeaway for now is this: the sewers of New York are no longer just for waste. They are a stage for a very real, very opaque drama. And the NYPD is scrambling to catch up.
