Overview
- In Wantagh, Long Island, witnesses and surveillance video showed four to five people opening a manhole and descending just after 1 a.m. Thursday, and investigators searched the sewer but found no one and made no arrests.
- In Manhattan, surveillance footage from Aug. 18 captured three people emerging from a manhole near Penn Station and prompted NYPD detectives to open an active investigation.
- The New York City Department of Environmental Protection said it inspected the Manhattan site and found no damage to city infrastructure, and it warned that entering sewers is illegal and can expose people to toxic gases, sudden flooding and confined-space hazards.
- Police agencies in the city and Nassau County are collecting camera footage and, according to reports, using facial‑recognition and analytic tools to try to identify those involved, but motives remain unconfirmed and no arrests have been reported.
- Officials say the summer cluster follows isolated May incidents and that the move onto Long Island raises questions about enforcement, public safety and privacy as authorities pursue identifications and urge the public to stay out of sewers.