Astonishing story of one of the last 'mole people' who lived underground New York City for 25 years
Back in the 1980s when NYC citizens were struggling to find shelter, they found solace deep inside the city's Riverside Tunnel known as 'Freedom Tunnel.'
In 1980, around 50 homeless individuals chose to live in the Riverside Tunnel - which runs under the west side highway to riverside park - instead of staying in shelters.
They created makeshift communities and shanty towns in this homeless haven, using whatever they could find - they became known as the 'mole people.'
However, in 1991, Amtrak police began clearing out the tunnel, forcing all the residents out.
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In 2007, YouTuber Erik K Swanson discovered that the tunnel had been repopulated and that some 'mole people' remained.
In one of his videos, he documented a man named Walter, a man who had lived as a mole person for over 20 years.
Giving a tour of his tunnel home, Walter showed his camp that was 'divided into different rooms' and appliances powered by electricity.
Eric noticed that Walter 'also had all the comforts of home.'
In the interview, Walter talked about the frequent fights and troubles in the tunnel, including a practice called 'bushwacking' where people would attack others from surprise spots. Walter himself had been targeted twice but managed to avoid serious harm.
"There was always trouble, always getting into fights with people," Walter described.
"One way of retaliating against somebody down here would be setting fire to their spot which was a common occurrence."
Around 1995, when the authorities cleared out most of the people living in the tunnels, Walter managed to stay hidden because he led a quiet life 'without bonfires or cats or dogs', and was left behind when the others were removed.
"So, when the authorities threw all of them out, I was the only one left standing," Walter explained.
Walter became one of the last remaining mole people from that era.
In terms of making money, Walter explained that he has to 'improvise.'
One way he does this is by 'rebuilding computers' that he finds on the street and reselling them, as well as selling books to vendors.
"Sometimes I'll take some books out on the street and sell them myself, which is where I make a lot more money than selling them to the vendors or the bookstore," Walter added.
He also mentioned owning a phone to stay in touch with family along with a video game console in his tunnel home that he powers with electricity.
Though he was secretive about how he managed electricity, he stated: "If you have the ingenuity, you can help yourself."
After getting into some trouble in the 80s and work drying up, Walter came to this tunnel and found refuge.
"I'm pretty well off. You won't find many down here who have as much as I do," he added.
"When I come home, forget about the rest of the world [...] this is like my castle."
Sadly, Walter passed away in 2012 around the time the authorities cleared out the rest of the mole people.