Inside His Amazing Home in the Tunnels Beneath New York - Mole People

Carlos lived in a sewer in the Freedom Tunnel in New York City. He is what many consider one of the mole people - a name given to the homeless who live in the tunnels beneath New York.

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I first met Carlos in 2007, and visited him a number of times over a period of several months. He was part of a small group of people who had made homes for themselves in abandoned parts of an Amtrak train tunnel that runs under the West Side highway in New York City.

Carlos was very friendly. He showed me his home on several occasions, and invited me in at one point to help him fix his computer. He had an interesting life, and I am grateful he was willing to be on camera.

Carlos no longer lives in the Freedom Tunnel. A number of years ago the authorities removed all the people living in the tunnel, and cleaned up the area. The section of tunnel that Carlos and several other homeless people had chosen to live in is very different now.

One of Carlos' friends has set up a Gofundme for him. Thank you to everyone who wishes to help him.

Visit my website to keep up with my other projects.

[ErikKSwanson]

Thank you to all who want to donate to the Gofundme for Carlos. The goal was met, and he is very appreciative. Another Friend of Carlos' has started a new Gofundme.

Here is my newest video of Carlos giving more info about his life since we first met


Support my gofundme for a documentary about the Anchor-outs in San Francisco Bay

I will be working on the follow up video of Carlos in the coming weeks, and aim to release it late February/Early March

UPDATE: 12/9/22
I visited Carlos again the other day. He is doing well, and appreciative of all the kind words and support. I will be posting a follow up video sometime in January.

UPDATE: 9/22/22
I saw Carlos again two days ago. We had a nice talk, which lasted longer than the previous time. He remembered me, and even where I lived in 2007. I gave him some help, and told him of all the nice comments and offers to help from this video. We coordinated to meet again in about a month, and have tentatively planned a follow up video about him.

He said the tunnel was cleared out about 10 years ago, but didn't remember the exact year. He thinks it had to do with Amtrak cleaning up all the graffiti, as well as all the construction and other activity right at the entrance to the tunnel.



UPDATE to address some recurring comments:
I saw Carlos a few weeks ago - it had been a while since I last saw him, so it was a pleasant surprise. He didn't remember me, but seemed to be doing ok. He was listening to the scripture, and wouldn't talk too much, but he confirmed some things others have told me about the tunnel.
I don't know where he lives now, but I have an idea of the general neighborhood he is in (I won't share that info). He does seem to be "homeless" still.
I hope to find him again in a month or so to check in on him.

There was at least one other video of Carlos (unrelated to mine) that came out about 2008 -ish. This video was a co-production between a French company and the Sundance Channel.
Sundance released the segment with Carlos on their show "Full Frontal Fashion." In that video Carlos repeated a prediction made by Harold Camping (a Christian radio personality) that the world would end in 2011. The start of this judgement day was supposed to start on May 21, 2011 and culminate on October 21, 2011.
In that other video, Carlos said "May twenty-one" instead of "May twenty first, " so viewers thought he was referring to May 2021.
It appears that video blew up in popularity during 2020, and the person who posted it has since made it private. A copy has been uploaded, and can be found on youtube. If you listen closely he does say "2011" at one point, but it is hard to understand.
The French documentary about the freedom tunnel is called "dans les entrailles de new york" and is also on youtube.
Carlos spoke about this prediction/prophecy when I filmed him also - I didn't include it, because as far as I can tell, it didn't happen.
If you listen closely, during some sections of my video you can hear the radio show in the background - he listened to "Family Radio" pretty much all the time.

I saw another documentary from around 2013? that briefly showed the opening to Carlos' home - his voice can be heard coming from inside declining to be on camera. He says that the cops had already come through that day.

It is certainly possible that those videos, and others, plus articles and blog posts about the Freedom tunnel got Carlos and the others removed. This tunnel and it's residents have been in the news since the 1990s - there was even a Jerry Springer episode about it.
I think it is also possible that gentrification contributed. There has been a ton of money put into that neighborhood, from both developers and the city. The whole area is much more active than it used to be. Plus the area where Carlos lived, and entered the tunnel is actually being used now. Amtrak has maintenance trains, extra track and other equipment right there. They installed lights, so the whole area is much brighter. The park maintenance crews are also right near the entrance, storing their lawn mowers, etc. It would be much more difficult to go unnoticed now than it would have in 2007-2008 when I first visited the tunnel.

I also heard that the people were cleared out of the tunnel due to flooding from hurricanes in recent years. Unfortunately without finding the person who gave the order to remove everyone, there is no way to know the why people were removed.

[SeanRambo]

Living in a tunnel but more polite and better manners than most people living comfortably

[jackknifer]

When a man prefers to live in a literal sewer instead of a shelter provided by the city because is too "wicked", that definitely tells you something about the city's shelter management.

[freda]

They're not bothering anyone. They're just trying to survive. Let them live.

[river]

if a landlord got a hold of his place, it would easily be $1800 a month. No pets.

[huntakilla]

Heart wrenching ending.
Dude didn't bother a single soul. He didn't steal. He scavengend trash and ate expired or discarded food. He lived in a hole in the ground, but even that was taken from him.
Hope he's doing alright, wherever he is.

[sumper_man]

People like Carlos are the ones who will survive the apocalypse. He’s a pretty smart guy and I hope he’s doing better.

[wr]

In a post-apocalyptic world scenario, Carlos seems like a pretty resourceful and useful guy to have around.

[appalachianfamilyrecipes]

Carlos is an engineer, what a resourceful and nice man.

[missyjohnson]

I’ve almost been homeless before; all it takes is a perfect storm: A illness turns into missed work, turns into loss of job, turns into loss of benefits, turns into blowing through your savings to stay alive; mix in the fact that you have no living family to help except for your two daughters that are in elementary school, and before you know it, you’re destitute with little to no options. It’s easier than you think to one day wake up in Carlos’ situation. I hope he continues to do well for himself.

[droneexplorer]

I was concerned that this video could endanger Carlos at first, it's a relief that you waited so many years after filming this to protect him.

[amythus]

Carlos is happier and more grateful than most people I've ever met. Bless his soul.

[SD-nqkg]

"God provides Food".... Man has a higher moral compass than most of us

[sumcrazychic]

I was homeless for about 2 years. Thank you for showing him respect. Being poor is not a crime. Thank you so much for other gratitude and helping him. I love if you were able to find Carlos and get an update.

[d.c.]

This video was filmed when I was around two years old, I’m now 18. The fact that Erik waited all this time to release the footage really shows how much he respects Carlos and his privacy, I can’t wait to see the follow up video

[mujtaba]

he may be living in a tunnel but he's got manners and decency.... What an amazing educated man... I wish his life would chamge somehow and he moves to a better and cozy house...

[pcoco]

God bless the homeless around the world and keep them safe Amen.

[clendaba]

A man who lives in a sewer tunnel still made effort and time to pray? Wow... am deeply touched. It's time to count my blessings

[amandlaa]

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. Prayers for him.

[mr.slater]

His eyes show nothing but warmth and peace, but also tell a story of what he has gone through.