European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doily Magazine Hobo Jungle under Park Avenue by Dena Kleiman new York Tims As tens of thousands of people overhead a Colony of reclusive derelicts leads a harsh existence in Lull known network of Caver Nous steam tunnels extending six Levels below Park Avenue from grand Central terminal to the living in the darkness relieved Only by an occasional overhanging amid his sing steam oppressive heat and dripping As Many As 40 tramps have lived for years in dungeons of where Days Are measured by the rumble of pass ing new York commuter trains and Dan Gers abound for inc the who slay or a few Days or As Long As several come from Dif Ferent walks of they Range in age from 17 to Many once had jobs and but now they have sidestepped a More conventional life to live its warmer Down Here than it is in the Man beneath the hotel rooms a 3syearold named John said in the tunnels Boncal the terminal police and maintenance workers at grand Central know of the hobos presence but rarely Ven Ture into the tunnels inner Depths to Chase them away or to assist know the place better than we said one officer on night tour at the in scared to go Down the men women Are forbidden sleep on newspapers and strips of card Board in cubicles formed by Iron they Cook their food in tins on scorching Metal most emerge during the Day to Panhandle and search the streets for at night they return to their subterranean despite their squalid the men make valiant efforts to keep they Wash their clothes in scalding pud some have brooms and try to keep their quarters and several even Shower under leaking after letting the water the superintendent of police at grand Walter said As far As he no one was currently living in the which Bouse steam pipes for the but a recent visit turned up a number of to a the tunnels appear Hel they Are devoid of natural rats giant Roaches and fleas Scurry at the Thunder of trains overhead shakes the the hot Sticky air glues clothes to the and the layers of soot make breathing difficult at but to those who live in this Hobo men who disdain free Beds on Ibe bowery and salvation army it is a shelter from the Street that often privacy and Sanctuary from harassment by like other homeless men and women who roam the cites they have no need to when asked Why they do not accept welfare Money and charitable they say that they prefer their Freedom and privacy to the world of regu lations and limitations on their while there was no evidence of the use of drugs in the there were Many Indi cations of the drinking of in their the men live by their own they set up lodging several Hun dred feet apart and stash belongings in Well concealed at they use bathrooms in upper Tunnel Levels that Are used during the Day by Railroad maintenance among the cites the existence of the which Nave been used by hobos for a generation or is not a 17yearold youth named who has lived on and off in the tunnels Over the past Learned of them from his who has been sleeping in them periodically for others hear of them at Mission houses or in the recently a reporter and photographer descended into the tunnels through a Hole in a Wall in grand beside scrawled in yellow is the word Down a shaky 15foot an other stairway led to a passageway be Neath the tracks of the terminals lower because of its oppressive the passageway is known to maintenance workers As the Burma there the tunnels in a Jim Lutc trek with flashlights in the pitch groping along sweltering Walls caked with the visitors stretched Over giant water scaled Steep ladders and crouched under Concrete finally coming upon a 28yearold mail named he was lying in the dark in a cramped Gully behind a double set of pipes and seemed startled by the visitors like several of Ibe other inhabit ants encountered on the  tour of the Sieve was reluctant to say where be had come Intai or Bow he had received a Gash la his which was covered with its just a place to said network of steam tunnels is Home for a Colony of reclusive who told of having stayed in the tunnels for several emerging by Day to roam the City streets in search of Money for food and by he he Cooks his meals in a Lair locked with bread Saran aluminium miniature bars of soap and a on a steam Pic that has been stripped of Asbestos he heats food and boils writer for instant that night his dinner consisted of potatoes cooked in an aluminium the night he just a place to live six Levels below the streets of there had been roast it depends on what we he he has decorated his spot with sheets of a overexposed photograph and a All tucked into he sleeps with his Coal and shoes sleeping his Walton and a pair of eyeglasses close by his farther Down the other Camp Sites were they consisted of piles of newspaper and strips of cardboard Cov ered with assorted in one there was a red quilt a Jar of skin Cream and a at another a Plum coloured Scarf dangled from a pipe and a stick of Rollon deodorant Lay on the littered Here and there were empty cans at Beer and drained wine and liquor Buttles labelled wild Irish Thunder Bird and night train along the hidden in Raf were other items a pair of Spectra a plastic bag of an unopened quart of 12 empty bottles of Plum on the cd kits line Between two Popei Hung a neat Row of Wash iwo plaid several pairs of Black it turned belonged to a Man who gave i name Ai who said be was x and bad lived in Ibe Tunnel for about three clean shaven and thin to the Point of he had just awakened from a bed behind an Iron the bed was a subway poster covered by a Light beside him was a ballpoint pen and a flick ering red tie said that he was a Friend of they met several months ago on their Way into the although he and Steve spend their Days apart and have separate they usually meet at night and share their he they did not know each others last january 1978 the stars and stripes Page 13