Visiting One of the “Mole People” Living in NYC Tunnels

Documentary filmmaker Erik K. Swanson, intrigued by tales of New York City‘s “mole people,” went searching to interview one in the Freedom Tunnel that runs under the West Side Highway. This is the story of Walter, a man who called the tunnel home for 20 years.

Swanson was struck by the paradox of visiting the graffiti-covered home of someone most would consider “homeless.” As Walter, donning his Betty Boop “house slippers,” gives him a tour of his domicile under the bustling city, Swanson gets more than he expected.