John Francis, commenting on a post of mine regarding stories of "moles" who are said to live in abandonned subway tunnels of New York, opined:
> Not a very large seed. Apart from the (not really surprising) fact > that some of the homeless will take advantage of just about any shelter, > including the mouths of abandoned sewer outlets or blocked tunnels, > there's very little else to it other than self-seeking publicity of > dubious merit. The biggest story about the 'mole people', supposedly > written by someone who spent some time in a subterranean society below > central park, lost what little credibility it had when the photographs > used in it were identified as having been taken somewhere completely > different, nowhere near New York. I read somewhere (after I made my post), that the stories of the NYC Mole People were greatly exaggerated. There may have been a few individuals living in old subway tunnels back in the 80's (as you said, the homeless will live in almost any derelict shelter they can find), but they're pretty much all gone now. And, when (if) they did live down there, there were no brutish Lord of the Flies type of societies as reported. The piece you refer to is likely by Jennifer Toth, "The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City". I think that was viewed rather skeptically when it was first released, but I think you're right, it's been pretty much dismissed as fabrication these days. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
