In the downtown area of New York, there has always been a legend about the "Mole Clan":
The "Mole Clan" are a group of homeless marginalized people who live in the abandoned subway passages beneath the most prosperous areas of New York City, living like moles in the dark.
However, this is not exactly the so-called urban legend ...
According to incomplete statistics, there are about 2,000 "moles" in New York today, who for various reasons have entered the abandoned subway passage, found a shelter, lived a poor, dangerous, but relatively free life, often for decades...
A YouTube blogger began experimenting with the Mole Clan a decade ago. Recently, he finally got in touch with the group and got a close shot of their lives.
This legendary mysterious crowd, for the first time, showed their true side in front of the camera...
The middle-aged man, Carlos, has only joined the newly "mole tribe" in recent years.
Carlos, a 48-year-old Cuban native who had been in the United States for nearly three decades, had been smuggled from Cuba to Florida in a small boat.
When he first arrived in the United States, Carlos also envisioned a good life, but the reality was very bone-chilling, he did many jobs, none of which could be done for a long time.
Gradually, as he got older, it became increasingly difficult for Carlos to find a suitable job.
With no source of income, carlos initially lived in the government's relief station, but soon found that there were dragons and snakes mixed up, staying there was either bullied or robbed, fighting was a daily routine, and a large group of addicts and criminals were eager to move.
After several years of intermittent time at the relief station, Carlos finally couldn't stand it anymore and went back to the streets.
This time wandering, he made many friends who encountered the same encounter, one of whom was a buddy named Brian, who happened to be the rumored "Mole Clan".
He told Carlos that he had long since found a great place, a sewer for an abandoned subway passage.
So Carlos moved with Brian to his current residence and officially became a member of the "Mole Clan" for two years.
Carlos looked miserable when he talked about the days of waiting for the relief station and wandering the streets, and when it came to the underground home where he now lived, Carlos was full of joy and pride that could not be concealed.
Carlos' home is in a sewer on the side of the subway track, covered with a cardboard, which opens the entrance to the sewer, which can only accommodate one person at a time.
Entering Carlos's home, the space inside is extremely small, and it is extremely difficult to turn around in place, but it is Carlos's comfort nest.
Although the sparrow is small, it is complete, and the appliances are complete here, and the refrigerator, microwave oven, pots and pans are complete.
There's even an old-fashioned computer and printer.
With so many appliances in the house, where does the electricity come from?
To this question, Carlos honestly asked:
Steal the wiring from the public distribution box next to it.
In Carlos's view, stealing electricity is almost a necessary skill for every "mole family".
In terms of water, Carlos is not too worried, and there is a water pump not far from the residence, which can be used from there two barrels a day.
In Carlos's view, the "mole tribe" is no different from ordinary people in other aspects except living in the abandoned underground, and not all of them are of bad character.
Carlos himself does not smoke, does not drink alcohol, does not take drugs, has no bad habits, he wears clean and tidy clothes every day, cooks for himself, insists on doing weekly prayers, occasionally goes out to pick up scraps to make a little money, and has lived this way for many years.
As for the source of food, Carlos did not worry.
Since he moved here, there is a supermarket nearby that throws out a lot of food that is close to expiring every day.
Relying on these barely able to eat food, Carlos can basically achieve "self-sufficiency".
Carlos laughed and said, "God has been giving me food. ”
Overall, although he has become a "mole family", Carlos's mentality has always been optimistic and peaceful.
In his opinion, compared with the windy meals and sleeping on the streets, life is now quite satisfactory.
Of course, not everyone has the carlos mentality.
Walter, the "old mole" who has lived underground for thirty years, is full of worries about everything around him.
He is in his 60s and is said to have come underground around the age of 30 and has been living at the end of the subway corridor extension.
On a high wall at the end of the passage, a sign of "80th Street" is posted, and in the uppermost hole in the wall is Walter's home.
Every day when he came home from outside, Walter had to build a ladder to climb it.
As a veteran "mole family", Walter believes that they are not "homeless" in the strict sense of the word, after all, they all have a home of their own.
Walter's home was larger than the sewers, and the house was converted into a duplex, with a living room and kitchen underneath, and a bedroom upstairs.
He has lived for decades and has accumulated a lot of things, kitchen supplies, and all kinds of household appliances.
The living room had lamps, bedside tables, sofas and bookshelves, and if it weren't for the dimly lit abandoned subway passage, it would have felt like home.
In his spare time, Walter would use a CD player to play music, play old computer games, and read new books on the shelves.
Of course, for walter, an old fritter, solving the hydropower problem is naturally not a problem, and his electricity is also stolen:
Walter pulled a wire to the power line of the street lamp on the highway on the ground. Water was also stolen from a nearby pump.
As for the degree of eating and wearing, Walter said that there are basic means of livelihood, there are still many businesses on weekdays, he will repair second-hand computers, he will sell second-hand books, of course, the most he does is to pick up scrap and cans.
Picking up cans usually earns $20 to $30 an afternoon, he said.
Walter is a little numb when it comes to making more money or finding a better job, saying he's used to his current state of life:
"Everything is fine here, there aren't too many people, there's everything I need here, for me, it's home."
Most of the "Mole Clans", like Walter, live in underground homes for decades, with little change in their lives.
Police officers are usually aware of their presence and most of the time turn a blind eye.
A few years ago, however, the New York government began systematically cleaning up the "mole people," and many were driven away and returned to the streets.
Only a few people, like Carlos and Walter, still live in the few remaining abandoned subway lanes.
Carlos and Walter, the only remaining "mole tribes", also have a lot of concerns about the reports of outsiders, and they are afraid that once the documentary exposes them, the only remaining strongholds may also be cleared by the police.
According to some media statistics, the only remaining 2,000 "moles" in New York are also a group that is about to disappear, and they can occupy fewer and fewer places.
But compared to the tens of thousands of homeless people living on the streets, the "mole people" are still a lucky minority because they have a relatively safe place to live.
Of course, it is only relatively safe:
Because the "mole family" that occupies the shelter is still facing the threat of infectious diseases, parasites, and rats.
Occasional intruders may also threaten their survival.
The "mole family" has tens of meters above its head, which is the most prosperous downtown New York area in the world, but it is also the farthest place from them...