Story perspectives

NYPD Investigates Viral Brooklyn Manhole Dives, Suspects Loot Hunt

6/7/2026

Summary

Story summary

NYPD opened an investigation after viral night-time videos showed people slipping into Brooklyn manholes.
The incidents occurred Thursday night and early Friday in Gravesend and Williamsburg.
The Department of Environmental Protection warned that entering the city’s 7,400-mile sewer system is illegal and extremely dangerous.
Police officials said their leading theory is that the trespassers were searching for valuables, citing past burglaries in the sewer network.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, spent $30 million to lock 1,200 manhole covers after copper thieves hit the 7,400-mile sewer network, prompting a 40 percent theft drop by 1997. That security push anticipated later DEP initiatives, including the $1 billion watershed-protection program announced in 2018 and ongoing Water Tunnel 3 construction.

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Story summary

NYPD opened an investigation after viral night-time videos showed people slipping into Brooklyn manholes.
The incidents occurred Thursday night and early Friday in Gravesend and Williamsburg.
The Department of Environmental Protection warned that entering the city’s 7,400-mile sewer system is illegal and extremely dangerous.
Police officials said their leading theory is that the trespassers were searching for valuables, citing past burglaries in the sewer network.

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