New York City might have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle problem. <\/p>\n
Trespassers were seen climbing into an open manhole on a Brooklyn street early Friday morning not once, but twice, cops said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just like the movie creatures who famously lived in the city sewer system, the group of about a half-dozen men have been spending hours in the slimy underground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NYPD ESU cops investigated after men were seen mysteriously descending into Brooklyn\u2019s sewer system. David Burns\/@FD4D for NY Post<\/p>\n
The men bizarrely removed a manhole cover and entered the sewer system at at Hayward Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg at around 1 a.m. on Friday, police said.<\/p>\n
They were caught on video climbing out of the manhole around 3:40 a.m. and taking off in a vehicle, police said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At about\u00a0 2 a.m., a group of men was captured on video removing a manhole cover and descending into the sewer about five miles away at McDonald Avenue and Collin Place in Gravesend, according to cops.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t immediately clear if the incidents were linked, cops said. <\/p>\n
Cops were trying to determine if the two peculiar incidents were linked. Peter Gerber<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, we can\u2019t say that they\u2019re the same,\u201d a police spokesman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very peculiar that there\u2019s similar incidents within miles of one another,\u201d the spokesman added, explaining that investigators are reviewing video of both incidents.<\/p>\n
The NYPD\u2019s Emergency Services Unit did a sweep of the sewers and found nothing, another spokesman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a concern so they just went down to make sure everything was safe,\u201d the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Later, a crew from the city Department of Environmental Protection was seen working at the site of the Gravesend incident. <\/p>\n
They were \u201cinspecting the sewer infrastructure at this location to ensure there is no damage to the system,\u201d a DEP spokesperson told The Post.<\/p>\n
Police were at the scene where men went into the sewer in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. David Burns\/@FD4D for NY Post<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, residents were fearful of potential attacks on the two neighborhoods with large Jewish populations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community was very alarmed,\u201d said Joey Saban, chief of staff for state Sen. Sam Sutton ( D-Brooklyn), adding that he was concerned about a nearby school in Gravesend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bizarre incident,\u201d Saban said. \u201cThis entire situation underscores how vulnerable the community feels.\u201d<\/p>\n
An apparent bomb sniffing dog was used at the scene in Williamsburg. Peter Gerber<\/p>\n
The men were caught on video at both scenes removing manhole covers and climbing into the sewer system. Michael Nagle for NY Post<\/p>\n
A Shomrim cop car was parked over the manhole in Williamsburg\u00a0Saturday.<\/p>\n
Anthony Purdie, who is homeless, said he saw a lot of commotion at the intersection late Friday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was coming back from the Chinese restaurant, I was eating wonton soup, and I saw four to five cops here,\u201d the 65-year-old retired Doe Fund employee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m homeless so I thought they were coming for me so I walked away,\u201d he said. \u201cThen I heard on the radio . . . that seven men came out of the manhole. That\u2019s crazy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the past, police have questioned people who said they went into the sewer on a sort of \u201ctreasure hunt\u201d looking for things that were lost, a police source said.<\/p>\n