UPPER EAST SIDE (WABC) — Police are talking to someone believed to be one of the men seen climbing out of a manhole on the Upper East Side on Wednesday, police sources said.
The manhole is near the hotel where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stayed briefly, according to police sources.
No charges have been filed, and police are seeking at least two others.
The person being questioned is believed to be part of a larger pattern of more than 20 similar incidents, in which people go into the sewer system to look for valuables, a source said.
Police said officers responded to a 911 call about a possible crime around 4:35 a.m. near 535 Park Ave. at East 61st Street. When officers arrived, they learned three individuals had exited a sewer and left the area, traveling northbound on Park Avenue.
Authorities said an NYPD surveillance camera captured the incident.
The men were seen fleeing in two vehicles. One vehicle was described as a silver sedan, and the second was described as a four-door vehicle driven by a man wearing a black shirt and gray shorts.
The NYPD and federal agents conducted additional sweeps of the area out of an abundance of caution given the United Nations General Assembly and the proximity to Netanyahu’s hotel.
Nothing suspicious was found.
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