Several outlets describe what it is like to enter New York City’s sewer tunnels, based on comments from a former urban explorer. The reporting characterizes the environment as damp and foul-smelling, with conditions that include pests such as cockroaches. One account says the most unpleasant part of exploring is cockroaches that crawl on walls and drop down on people, rather than rats. Another description emphasizes that while a functioning sewer can smell comparatively “barnyard” or like compost, a poorly functioning area can smell “like death.”
Coverage also places the discussion in the context of recent surveillance videos showing small groups entering and exiting sewer areas in Brooklyn and Queens. Police are said to be investigating the incidents while not believing there is a threat to the public. Officials stress that entering the city’s sewer pipes is illegal and dangerous. The explorer cited in the articles suggests the people in the videos were likely similar to him—urban explorers—using older, larger 19th-century sewer mains that can be wide enough for a person to move through.
All sources agree the sewer system is hazardous and that illegal entry is being examined by authorities.
