Featured Image Credit: Erik K Swanson / YouTube
When New York City citizens were struggling to find adequate shelter in the past, they were forced to become ‘mole people’ and live deep inside the city’s ‘Freedom Tunnel’.
Nearly one in every 83 New Yorkers is homeless, according to nonprofit organization The Bowery Mission.
It’s stated that among those residing in Big Apple shelters, there are thought to be around 20,000 single men and 5,000 single women sleeping rough.
In 1980, it’s claimed that around 50 of these houseless people shunned shelters and instead found solace in the Riverside Tunnel.
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There, they set up shanty towns for safety and built a community with what they could find on the streets.
This tunnel was later nicknamed The Freedom Tunnel and was known a a homeless haven for 11 years.
However in 1991 Amtrak began clearing out the tunnel - which runs under the west side highway to riverside park - and the population was forced to move on.
In 2007 popular YouTuber Erik K Swanson found that The Freedom Tunnel had become repopulated and that some ‘mole people’ had set up camps with electricity and various appliances.
In a video posted to the video-sharing platform in 2022, he documented meeting Carlos—a man previously called the underground area his home.
Carlos revealed in the clip that he was a 48-year-old refuge who had immigrated from Cuba 27 years ago.
The man further explained that he’d been living in a Freedom Tunnel sewer for two years.
His pad had heat and electricity and was kitted out with computers, refrigerators, a printer and a microwave—all of which he claimed to have found in the garbage.
However Swanson later confirmed that Carlos, another man called Walter and other ‘mole people’ no longer lived in their makeshift homes.
This is because in 2012 Amtrak ‘painted over all the old graffiti, and began clearing out the tunnel,’ he said.
“They cleaned out much of the garbage, and removed the people who were living in the tunnel.”
Unfortunately, Swanson confirmed that Walter - who had previously lived down a ladder - had died in the same year that Amtrak had swept the tunnels clean.
“On a recent visit to the tunnel I stopped by his old place,” the creative wrote.
“There has not been a ladder there for many years, but some of his old belongings can still be seen on the landing.”
Meanwhile Carlos is living in the streets again after police arrested him for trespassing in The Freedom Tunnel.
In another clip posted to YouTube, Swanson ran into the former ‘mole person’ who didn’t recognize him at first.
He claims that if anyone still lives underground then they are ‘extremely well hidden’.
Since the original video featuring Carlos was posted in September 2022, it has amassed more than 13 million views
Taking to the comments section to have their say, one user typed: “People like Carlos are the ones who will survive the apocalypse. He’s a pretty smart guy and I hope he’s doing better.”
“In a post-apocalyptic world scenario, Carlos seems like a pretty resourceful and useful guy to have around,” echoed a second viewer.
Another typed: “I’m sad for Carlos. He is so resilient and was happy. The authorities should have left him alone. We could learn a thing or two from Carlos.”
