{"id":126311,"date":"2026-04-01T19:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T23:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/hidden-nyc-tunnel-tied-to-underground-railroad-at-risk-of-significant-damage-advocates-warn-126311"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T23:15:08","slug":"hidden-nyc-tunnel-tied-to-underground-railroad-at-risk-of-significant-damage-advocates-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/hidden-nyc-tunnel-tied-to-underground-railroad-at-risk-of-significant-damage-advocates-warn-126311","title":{"rendered":"Hidden NYC tunnel tied to Underground Railroad at risk of \u2018significant damage,\u2019 advocates warn"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

An Underground Railroad passageway in New York City was recently identified \u2014 and is now under potential threat from proposed commercial development, according to advocates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The passage, found in the Merchant’s House Museum<\/a> in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, is believed to have been part of a secret network of routes that helped enslaved Black Americans escape to freedom.<\/p>\n

The structure is described as “about 2 feet square and secreted beneath a built-in chest of drawers on the second floor, [and] descends 15 feet to the ground floor,” according to a statement from the Merchant’s House Museum.<\/p>\n

MASSIVE INDUSTRIAL SITE UNCOVERED IN UNLIKELY LOCATION AS ARCHAEOLOGISTS CITE ‘ENORMOUS’ POTENTIAL<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Though the home dates to 1832, it’s unclear when the passageway was built.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The house, however, was built by an abolitionist, Joseph Brewster \u2014 and the hidden passage<\/a> “serves no known domestic purpose,” according to the museum.<\/p>\n

The passageway was first found in the 1930s. Historians did not know until recently that Brewster was an abolitionist.<\/p>\n

Museum officials said the analysis of the site took two years of “extensive research”<\/a> \u2014 and now the site is at risk. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The concern is connected to the proposed development of a nine-story mixed-use building that could possibly damage the walls and foundation of the Merchant’s House Museum, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Emily Hill-Wright, the museum’s director of operations, recently told AP that engineers have raised concerns about potential structural damage.<\/p>\n

“What our engineers are saying is that there really is no way that a building of that size is built immediately next door to the museum without causing significant structural damage to our historic building,” she said.<\/p>\n

Museum officials also said the discovery has brought in more visitors<\/a> in recent months.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission is set to make a decision on the development, but members of the community are raising concerns.<\/p>\n

In a statement last week, Rev. Al Sharpton warned the site is at risk of “irreversible damage.”<\/p>\n

“When engineers tell me that an African American heritage site is in danger of structural compromise or any other sort of irreversible damage, I listen,” Sharpton said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The private developer, Kalodop II Park Corp., wants to replace the one-story garage it owns at 27 East 4th St. with a nine-story office building that includes ground-floor space likely to be used for a restaurant or art gallery, as The New York Post<\/a> reported of the details.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The developer had two earlier applications for construction on the lot; the most recent was approved in 2023, the Post also said. But Kalodop never began the construction \u2014 and in December submitted new plans f<\/strong>or a building that would have two\u00a0more\u00a0stories.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Helping enslaved people would have come at a great cost to Brewster, Harlem Historical Society director Jacob Morris told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

“Bounty hunters were all over the place in New York City. They made their living on catching freedom-seeking Blacks,” he said.<\/p>\n

Morris added, “If you got caught helping Blacks escape from slavery, a mob could come and burn down your house and beat you up. And maybe even tar and feather you, or worse.”<\/p>\n

The passageway discovery is one of many recent archaeological finds involving African American history.<\/p>\n

Last June, a South Carolina tourist found “historically significant” remains<\/a> on Edisto Island, once home to a community of African American sharecroppers.<\/p>\n

Also, last summer, archaeologists in Williamsburg, Virginia, dug up artifacts from the oldest surviving schoolhouse<\/a> for Black children.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed reporting.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/travel\/hidden-nyc-tunnel-tied-underground-railroad-risk-significant-damage-advocates-warn <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Underground Railroad passageway in New York City was recently identified \u2014 and is now under potential threat from proposed commercial development, according to advocates.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-126311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHidden NYC tunnel tied to Underground Railroad at risk of \u2018significant damage,\u2019 advocates warn - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/hidden-nyc-tunnel-tied-to-underground-railroad-at-risk-of-significant-damage-advocates-warn-126311\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hidden NYC tunnel tied to Underground Railroad at risk of \u2018significant damage,\u2019 advocates warn - 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