A strange Manhattan manhole sighting has led to two arrests. On Wednesday, two men were spotted emerging from a manhole near East 61st Street and Park Avenue, close to a Manhattan hotel where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regularly stays while attending the United Nations General Assembly.
On Friday, the NYPD arrested Samuel Reveron, 25, and Kevin Rodriguez, 26. Both men are from Queens, and each was booked on two counts of trespassing. Authorities believe they are the men seen coming out of the manhole early Wednesday morning.
According to a criminal complaint, the men were seen emerging at about 1:38 a.m. Around 4 a.m., they reportedly got back into their vehicles and drove in tandem over the Queensboro Bridge, alerting automatic license plate readers. The vehicles were owned by Reveron and Rodriguez.
Court records say both men identified themselves as the individuals who entered the manhole. Authorities said they explained that they went underground together to search for valuables that get washed into storm drains and sewers.
ABC News posted about the scene:
Reveron and Rodriguez were released after being arraigned. An attorney representing Reveron said his client’s alleged actions were not directed at the United Nations or any international government officials.
The arrests follow reports in recent months of people entering and emerging from manholes across New York City. Social media posts have described people prying open manholes in Brooklyn and Queens at night, climbing into the underground sewer system and later emerging near waiting vehicles.
For now, the charges against Reveron and Rodriguez are limited to trespassing. The court records provide the men’s stated explanation for entering the sewer system, but the incident has drawn attention because it occurred near a Manhattan hotel where Netanyahu regularly stays during the United Nations General Assembly.
Two people from Queens, New York, have been arrested after police say they were seen entering a manhole on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. pic.twitter.com/5fvionjO9J
— ABC News (@ABC) September 26, 2026