The sights are startling to people, but alarming to civil engineers, with more and more people being seen exiting manholes across New York City. The most recent breach prompted police to increase security around the area with foreign dignitaries in town for the United Nations General Assembly.
Swarms of people are making the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” a reality in the Big Apple’s sewers as they pop out, lifting manhole covers and flabbergasting bystanders. It’s frightening the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, which told Straight Arrow in an email that entering sewers is “illegal and extremely dangerous.”
“Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces,” a spokesperson wrote. “For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall.”
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Manholes are deadly. In May, 56-year-old Donika Gocaj stepped out of her car and fell into a 10-foot-deep manhole, NBC News reported in July. Law enforcement said the orifice was steaming at the time of her fall and she was found unconscious and unresponsive. Her family has since filed a lawsuit against Con Edison, NYC’s main utility company, for negligence in failing to keep the opening safe.
The warnings haven’t discouraged people from the activity. Instagram user Ricardy Fabre captured three people early Wednesday exiting a manhole. The people appeared to wear hard hats and overalls as they hoisted themselves out of the sewer in the Upper East Side neighborhood near the United Nations General Assembly.
The New York City Police Department told Straight Arrow that the three people fled in two separate vehicles. According to ABC7 New York, police arrested two men Friday on trespassing and conspiracy charges. The agency didn’t answer follow-up questions regarding other manhole-related incidents.
Wednesday’s incident isn’t the first. A Straight Arrow review of media coverage so far in 2026 found five other incidents in the city and another on Long Island.
No one can seem to find a reason why people continue exploring the city’s sewer system. Instagram user Vic Junior claimed in a comment he explored the city’s underground with a friend in 2006 for two hours during overnight construction.
“Never ending passage ways and huge openings size of stadiums,” the person wrote. “Even had old store front looking buildings and cobble stoned walk ways 10 stories underground.”
Two dozen people explored sewers
The city’s environmental protection department confirmed to Straight Arrow that the city’s sewer and water infrastructure is still safe after Wednesday’s incident and encouraged people to report future sightings to the police.
Reviews of past incidents showed that about 25 people have jumped into New York City’s sewer system in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens in 2026.
Sightings first started on May 5 near Aki Auto Care in Queens. Security footage captured three people prying open a cover and entering a sewer tunnel wearing overalls and headlamps, The Associated Press reported.
Onlookers recorded around 15 people in Brooklyn’s Gravesend and Williamsburg neighborhoods entering and exiting manholes over Memorial Day Weekend. The sight puzzled some people online, with others suspecting they’re searching for lost treasures or trinkets.
The strange sightings continued into August and mid-September, with four people exiting manholes in Manhattan and Queens. The August incident, shared widely online, saw three people who appeared to be wearing overalls and headlamps near Madison Square Garden. The mid-September incident stemmed from an emergency call someone made after seeing a person climbing out of a sewer and taking off with four others.
Steve Duncan, a now-former urban explorer, told The Associated Press that the sewers aren’t glamorous, with cockroaches swarming the canals. He noted the extraordinary nature of New York City’s sewers and said the lure isn’t to find treasures.
“The real reason is to see something new, or experience the city in a different way,” he told the publication.
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