Mysterious Trio Emerges from NYC Manhole Near Netanyahu's Hotel
A shady trio was spotted emerging from a manhole just steps from the hotel where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to stay during the United Nations General Assembly, cops and sources said.
The three unidentified men were spotted around 4:35 a.m. climbing out of the underground pit on Park Avenue near East 61st Street on the Upper East Side, authorities said.
They fled in two vehicles that headed north on Park Avenue, police said.
Netanyahu and other dignitaries are expected to stay at the Loews Regency New York down the block, sources said.
It was not immediately clear whether the sewer incident is linked to his stay, though the NYPD said they have assigned units to watch the area.
“We have seen a number of incidents over the past few months of individuals going into the sewer system to look for valuables and other scrap metal after a storm,” the NYPD said in a statement. “This incident fits that same criteria, but out of an abundance of caution given the U.N. General Assembly and the sensitivity of the location, the NYPD is conducting additional security sweeps with our federal partners.”
The bizarre incident is one of many involving mysterious sewer spelunkers in recent months.
Just last week, an unidentified nightcrawler was spotted stepping out of a manhole at Juniper Boulevard South and 74th Street in Middle Village just after 4 a.m. Sept. 14, prompting an observer to call 911, according to police.
The underground diver — believed to be in his 20s and last seen wearing a red and black bandana — ran off with four other men who were surrounding the sewer, law enforcement sources said.
It was unclear whether the accomplices had also emerged from the city’s steamy depths.
In another Manhattan hotspot weeks earlier, a trio of headlamp-wearing “mole people” was filmed popping up out of a manhole near Manhattan’s bustling Penn Station and Madison Square Garden.
Two months earlier, two separate caught-on-camera sightings of men emerging from manholes in Williamsburg and Gravesend raised citywide concerns.
