NYPD investigates new TikTok video of people exiting Manhattan manhole
Police are reviewing a TikTok clip showing three individuals climbing out of a manhole near Penn Station, confirming no arrests have been made and the sewer system was undamaged.
Police in New York City are examining a TikTok video posted on Friday that shows three people in overalls and headlamps emerging from a manhole at 32nd Street and 7th Avenue shortly after 4 a.m. on Aug. 18. The NYPD confirmed it is aware of the footage and that the investigation is ongoing, adding that no arrests have been made.
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection said an inspection found no damage to the sewer infrastructure and reiterated that entering sewers is illegal and hazardous. The agency warned that sewers can contain dangerous gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks and confined spaces, and advised the public not to enter any pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole or outfall.
Earlier in May, similar videos of men climbing out of manholes in Brooklyn and other parts of the city circulated online. Those incidents involved groups dressed in protective clothing and were initially thought to be scavenging for valuables, but police found no immediate threat to the public and no damage to the system. In June, the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit inspected the sewers after the May incidents and reported finding nothing suspicious.