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New York's Secret Tunnel Societies | Cities Of The Underworld (S2, E9) | Full Episode

HISTORY・33 minutes read

New York's underground reveals a hidden world of mobsters, bootleggers, and secret societies, with the city's intricate network including tunnels, speakeasies, and forgotten subway constructions. From the Sandhogs excavating 500 feet below the surface to the mysterious tunnels of Chinatown and the strategic forts like Fort Totten, New York's subterranean landscape reflects a rich history of innovation and danger.

Insights

  • New York City's underground infrastructure, built by various groups like mobsters, Sandhogs, and urban explorers, is a complex network that includes tunnels, speakeasies, and even long-lost subway passages, showcasing the city's hidden history and the diverse roles different communities played in shaping it.
  • From the innovative tunneling work of the Sandhogs to the strategic military designs of forts like Fort Totten, New York's underground reveals a rich tapestry of historical events, engineering marvels, and secret societies that have influenced the city's development, highlighting the intricate interplay between urban planning, criminal activities, and military defense within the city's subterranean world.

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Recent questions

  • What is the significance of the Sandhogs in New York?

    Sandhogs are specialized workers who have been excavating New York's underground for over a century, contributing to crucial infrastructure projects like the subway, sewers, and tunnels. They work in dangerous conditions, facing risks like rock falls and silica dust, but their efforts are essential for engineering the city's foundations.

  • How did the 21 Club operate during Prohibition?

    The 21 Club, a famous speakeasy in New York, had an ingenious security system during Prohibition, including a hidden wine cellar accessed through a meat skewer lock and a secret door. The club's clientele included movie stars, millionaires, and even the mayor of New York, showcasing its popularity and exclusivity during the era.

  • What role did Freemasons play in New York's infrastructure?

    Freemasons controlled the planning and building of the nation's infrastructure, with key figures like Dewitt Clinton influencing projects like the Erie Canal and New York's board of education. They played crucial roles in ensuring stability and longevity in constructions like the long-lost subway tunnel beneath Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue.

  • How did Fort Totten contribute to New York's defense?

    Fort Totten, strategically positioned to guard Manhattan, was built during the Civil War and evolved to accommodate heavier artillery in World War II. It featured innovative weaponry and design, including an underground weapon system of underwater mines, showcasing its effectiveness in protecting New York's vital waterways.

  • What historical significance does Chinatown hold in New York?

    Chinatown in New York, once a safe haven for Chinese immigrants, turned into a dangerous neighborhood due to gang wars between tongs like On Leong and Hip Sing. These gangs utilized an elaborate underground maze of tunnels for surprise attacks and evading the police, highlighting the violent history and strategic tactics employed in the area.

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Summary

00:00

"Secret Underworld: New York's Hidden History"

  • New York, with 8.2 million people, is known for its famous skyline, but beneath it lies an underworld built by mobsters, bootleggers, and secret societies.
  • The city has nearly 1,000 miles of subway lines, 6,437 miles of sewers, and over a dozen transport tunnels, including 17th-century forts and smugglers' tunnels.
  • During Prohibition in the 1920s, up to 100,000 speakeasies opened in New York, with Midtown Manhattan becoming a secret gathering spot for high society.
  • The 21 Club, a famous speakeasy, had an ingenious security system, including a hidden wine cellar accessed through a meat skewer lock and a secret door.
  • The wine cellar was not in the same building as the club, and its contents were hidden in the neighboring basement during federal raids.
  • The 21 Club's clientele included movie stars, millionaires, and even the mayor of New York, Jimmy Walker, who had a private drinking parlor in the basement.
  • Mobsters, like Legs Diamond, attempted to take over the club during Prohibition, but he was later assassinated, and the club continued to thrive after Prohibition ended.
  • The Sandhogs, a group of specially trained workers, have been hollowing out New York's underground for over 130 years, working up to 500 feet below the surface.
  • Sandhogs, named for their origins as diggers in sandy soil, have little documentation, and their work is crucial for engineering the city's infrastructure.
  • Rich Fitzsimmons, a third-generation Sandhog, provided exclusive access to the group, showcasing their daily life and the dangerous job of tunneling beneath New York.

12:13

"Sandhogs: Underground NYC Projects and Secrets"

  • Sandhogs have been responsible for major underground projects in New York since 1872, including the subway, sewers, Lincoln Tunnel, and Brooklyn Bridge foundations.
  • Sandhogs start their day early, descending 85 feet underground on a mantrip train to reach their worksite in Manhattan.
  • The East Side Access project, ongoing for over 40 years, aims to connect the Long Island railroad to Grand Central Terminal, enhancing subway connectivity.
  • The tunnel boring machine revolutionized tunnel creation, drilling through Manhattan bedrock at nearly 50 feet per day.
  • Sandhogs face dangers like silica dust, rock falls, and the bends due to the depth of their work, with historical fatalities and accidents.
  • Urban explorers discovered a long-lost subway tunnel beneath Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue, predating London's underground system.
  • The tunnel, filled with legends and secrets, was unearthed by Bob Diamond, who cleared dirt by hand to access it.
  • The tunnel, constructed using Roman engineering and Industrial Revolution techniques, utilized cut and cover methods to create a strong structure.
  • Cornelius Vanderbilt, Irish laborers, and Freemasons played crucial roles in the tunnel's construction, ensuring its stability and longevity.
  • The tunnel's construction, with a brick arched ceiling and strong bedrock walls, remains a testament to early innovative engineering in New York.

24:14

"Freemasons, Corruption, Gangs, and Forts: New York's History"

  • Freemasons controlled the planning and building of the nation's infrastructure, with key figures like Dewitt Clinton, a grand master of the Freemasons, influencing projects like the Erie Canal and New York's board of education.
  • Rufus King succeeded Dewitt Clinton and was a signer of the US Constitution, with his son John A. King proposing the Long Island Railroad to connect New York with Boston.
  • Corruption in 1859 led to the downfall of a project, with a real estate developer exploiting the situation to pocket money meant for demolition, accumulating nearly $130,000.
  • The abandoned tunnel became a hub for illicit activities, including being a whiskey bootlegger's headquarters and a dumping ground for the New York mafia.
  • A mystery surrounds the tunnel's old train platform, believed to hold an abandoned locomotive possibly linked to an assassin's secret, like the missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary.
  • Immigrants in early New York formed separate neighborhoods, like the Irish in Five Points and Italians in Little Italy, with Chinatown hosting dangerous gangs and bloody battles.
  • Chinatown, once a safe haven for Chinese immigrants, turned into a dangerous neighborhood due to gang wars, with tongs like On Leong and Hip Sing battling for control.
  • The tongs, American versions of China's Triad Society, engaged in violent battles using hatchets, with the Bloody Angle in Chinatown being a hotspot for turf wars.
  • Chinese gangs utilized an elaborate underground maze of tunnels and manholes for surprise attacks and evading the police, with many tunnels remaining blocked off today.
  • Fort Totten, a strategic fort and underground network built by the US military, protected New York's vital waterways for over 150 years, showcasing innovative weaponry and design.

35:50

Strategic Fort Totten: Civil War to WWII

  • Fort Totten, strategically positioned to guard Manhattan, was built during the Civil War and utilized high lookout points, cannons, and soldiers to defend against Confederate gunboats.
  • To counter new threats, Fort Totten and Fort Schuyler developed an underground weapon system in the form of underwater mines, known as buoyant torpedoes, placed in the riverbed to be activated by soldiers from the fort.
  • Fort Totten, designed to hold an arsenal during the Civil War, evolved to accommodate heavier artillery in World War II, maintaining its effectiveness in hiding explosive munitions.
  • Spread over 49 acres with 70 rooms, Fort Totten features weapon magazines, holding cells, and bunkers made of solid granite to protect live explosives, creating a damp and eerie atmosphere due to water seepage.
  • Rumors persist about a tunnel connecting Fort Totten to Fort Schuyler under Long Island Sound, potentially offering a hidden and direct path between the two forts, showcasing the innovative and strategic military designs of the 19th century.
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