{"id":1021381,"date":"2026-08-24T17:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1021381\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T17:16:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:16:32","slug":"the-riskiest-hobby-how-and-why-nyc-urban-explorers-go-where-few-others-dare-to-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1021381\/","title":{"rendered":"The riskiest hobby: How and why NYC urban explorers go where few others dare to travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vic.invades<\/a> and his friend recalled finding themselves atop the Manhattan Bridge in the middle of a snowstorm. Surrounded by steel suspension cables, with the din of traffic far below, not even frostbite could stop them. Vic.invades had been cheating the city\u2019s tunnels and rooftops for already three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the pair climbed down, they paused at an overlook. Vic.invades saw a police car in the distance. Instinctively, he took a step back \u2014 and fell through an open grate, his outstretched arms immediately catching onto the platform, the rest of him dangling hundreds of feet above the road.<\/p>\n

Vic.invades and those like him around the world call themselves urban explorers. They call what they do urban exploration, or urbex. It\u2019s for some a hobby and for others a way of life. From the city\u2019s sewers to the tops of its skyscrapers, each urbexer has a rationale: art, history, thrills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Urbex is as old as the city, veteran urbexers said. In recent years, it\u2019s been increasingly publicized, thanks to social media and the couple who climbed to the spire<\/a> of the Empire State Building last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s against the law (and, to many observers, common sense) to scale a suspension bridge or skyscraper, dredge through the sewers, or trespass on other restricted properties where there is a clear and present danger to the public. Yet the rebellious, persistent, and free-of-charge nature of urban exploring suggests a motivation beyond making headlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t really anywhere for the kids to go,\u201d Vic.invades said. \u201cSo all they can do is go up and climb.\u201d
\n\"Vic.invades<\/a>Vic.invades on a building roof.Photo: @quanatl\n<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a weird art form\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Vic.invades, 34, who asked to be referred to by his Instagram username, is a life-long New Yorker. He began urbexing in junior high school, sneaking into Brooklyn\u2019s Pratt Institute campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the following years, urbex became a way of life. He watched videos of urbexers scale skyscrapers in Shanghai. He connected with journalists to highlight his excursions. And he realized that what drew him to urbex was the artistry. He started taking photos.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come from a lineage of artists who take chances and do groundbreaking things,\u201d Vic.invades said. He called himself a \u201cHarlem Renaissance baby,\u201d referring to his family\u2019s historic ties to the land. He currently lives with his 100-year-old grandma in Clinton Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to show people that a young Black man such as myself is able to bypass these places, and also look the part, and also create beautiful art at the same time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In May, Vic.invades had an exhibition<\/a> of his jaw-dropping work in Aloft By Marriott Harlem. He\u2019s been featured in Ripley\u2019s Believe It or Not! He is also a member of the creative collective Art Gang, which is led by artist Voodo F\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that people need to feel at a higher level\u2026Through my work, I\u2019m able to show that, and I\u2019m able to live it in real time,\u201d Vic.invades said.<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/a>Steve Duncan in the Old Croton Aqueduct.Photo by Steve Duncan
\nOn the rooftops\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

College student Cleet, who asked to be identified by a nickname to remain anonymous, got into urbex through parkour, which he started at 12. Parkour, along with skateboarding, is adjacent to urbex and attracts a similar type. Through parkour, Cleet stumbled upon urbex locations.<\/p>\n

Cleet specializes in sneaking into buildings, getting to the roof, and practicing parkour there, including hopping from roof to roof. When he is not urbexing, he said he is walking the streets, looking for \u201croof gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleet, who belongs to the newest generation of urbexers, described the urbex community as a web of people with similar interests, not a rigid and easily-defined group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty clique-y. There\u2019s definitely very inner-inner circles,\u201d Cleet said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Urbex has an informal code of conduct, he said. One of the biggest rules is to not reveal buildings\u2019 locations. \u201cIt\u2019ll get completely trashed if people find it,\u201d Cleet said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like others, Cleet has had close calls. One occurred in the subway tunnels, which he also explores. After hopping a fence near a train yard, Cleet and his friends walked some 40 blocks underground in near pitch-black. Suddenly, a train rushed by. One of the group yelled \u201cTrain!\u201d and everyone bolted to the side.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all like a flock of birds,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

Another frightening time, Cleet\u2019s friend was exploring a subway tunnel, and was \u201cchased out by a homeless guy with a knife.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Cleet\u2019s most memorable interaction with the law came when he and some friends got the police called on them for practicing parkour on a Brooklyn rooftop. The cops\u2019 minor response aligned with what other urbexers told amNewYork about their run-ins with the law. Cleet and his friends were taken to court; the case was dismissed immediately, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cops were great about it,\u201d Cleet said.
\n\"Steve<\/a>Steve Duncan at the top of the Chrysler Building.Photo by Steve Duncan\n<\/p>\n

Tales from the tunnels<\/b><\/p>\n

Steve Duncan is a pioneer of New York City urbex. He arrived in the city from suburban Maryland in 1996 to attend Columbia University. Duncan first urbexed his college campus, and grew from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city was built in many different layers,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cIf I can get deeper in those layers, I can go further in the past.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Duncan, while experienced in tall buildings, specialized in sewers. He started a website, Undercity, where he posted photos and writings about his explorations. A 2010 documentary<\/a>, also named Undercity, directed by NYU student Andrew Wonder showcased Duncan exploring sewers and their history and inhabitants.<\/p>\n

In one memorable adventure from those years, Duncan held a pizza party<\/a> in the sewers, inspired by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Clad in costume, Duncan and friends recreated a scene where a delivery guy drops off a pizza order at a sewer entrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to go with medium pizzas because they are the only ones that fit through your standard 26-inch New York City sewer panel cover,\u201d Duncan said. After receiving the order, the urbexers descended into the sewers and enjoyed the pie in a cavern decked with lights, tables, and sofas.<\/p>\n

Many years later, Duncan, now 48, lives in Maryland. It\u2019s been ten years since he\u2019s done anything \u201cdrastically illegal.\u201d He does not follow urbex as closely as he once did but still receives invitations from young urbexers to join meetups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDecade to decade, I think we\u2019re still in a fairly paranoid period of American history,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cThere\u2019s a strong sense that if you\u2019re not doing something you\u2019re supposed to be doing, you probably shouldn\u2019t be doing it. If you don\u2019t have a real reason to be there, why?\u201d<\/p>\n

The answer can only be found somewhere in the damp darkness of the sewers or the windy plain of a rooftop.
\n\"Steve<\/a>Steve Duncan in the Old Croton Aqueduct.Photo by Steve Duncan\n<\/p>\n