European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 4, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Artist Chris Pape Center by the cooking fire with Bernard Monte Isaac right and another unidentified homeless Man in an abandoned Amtrak Tunnel under the street3 of Manhattan. Manhattan sole Oplie we Mumm 9 by Larry Neumeister i associated press it n an underground Railroad Tunnel the Width of a football Field in a place so scary that Amtrak workers once were assigned Shotgun toting go escorts about 40 homeless people Are making a life in Manhattan. To the sound of automobiles rumbling overhead Robert Negron and Bernard Monte Isaac emerge from the abandoned Railroad shacks in which they sleep. They stand near a campfire where they Cook and boil water to Wash and clean clothes. They seem almost like bedraggled boy scouts until they Start talking about life in a the  some Call it the a Tunnel of doom Quot its inhabitants the Quot mole  Quot a lot of people Are intrigued by our existence Down Here Quot Isaac says. Quot what a so amazing what Are we supposed to do come Down Here to die Quot this is the perfect environment for one to grow  Negron 38, and Isaac 36, have chiselled out an existence in the Tunnel that stretches from 72nd Street to 125th Street along Riverside Park on Manhattan supper West Side. They read by candlelight and occasionally Cook gourmet meals the Tunnel Walls Are adorned with murals. But they also struggle to survive amid violence. Isaac once found a body in the Tunnel and a woman who lived near his Shack was raped. Underground trolls once demanded that Isaac pay them tribute to pass through their territory. He reacted violently. He was the lord of the Tunnel he shouted and they backed off. He has held that title Ever since. Quot one will either grow or retard there a no Middle of the Road. Its a very dangerous place Quot says Isaac who holds a second degree Black Belt in karate. A this Tunnel scares the hell out of the Macho est of  Amtrak worker Bill Maccioli says he and other workers were so frightened when they first entered the two track Tunnel in 1987 that Railroad police carrying shotguns were sent along with them for eight months. The Tunnel connected now abandoned rail Yards Kwh Lincoln Center to the new York Central tracks Pun along the Hudson River. It has not been used for get years. Amtrak plans to resume service on the Racks soon but the Railroad will have to contend with the estimated 30 to 50 people who live there. They Are there by Choice. All had lives above ground. Isaac claims he has a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and Negron says he lived on Staten Island with his wife and 16-year-old son. A it always seemed like no matter what i got into i was t comfortable there Quot Negron says. A my emotions always got involved. I Felt shy or  Negron a former drug addict was among the first to seek Refuge in the Tunnel in the Early 1980s. In the beginning he was scared and ashamed. A when people were on the tracks i would put out the candles and would wait for them to leave. He says Quot it s like living in a men s shelter. When you go to sleep at night you have to tie your shoes with knots so that when you Wake up in the morning you still have  when someone set his cubbyhole on fire he moved about 20 blocks Uptown met Isaac and resettled in a underground Painter muralist Chris Pape. 10-by-20-foot Shack that he keeps padlocked. There is a bed a refrigerator to store food at room temperature Chest of drawers food locker a hamper clothing on hangers a Rug candles and a suitcase. Quot my happiest moment is when i go inside the room Light the Candle and sit Down and read Quot Negron says for Isaac too the happiest moments come when he has a full stomach and climbs a under the sheets Nice and warm and tucked in and dreams. In a at peace with myself and there s no Knock at my  he says he passes the time by working on a Book writing songs and planning a documentary that he claims a european television station is interested in. A i m a dreamer Quot Isaac says. Isaac and Negron redeem cans and bottles for the Cash they need and Hunt through garbage cans for food scraps. On a recent haul Isaac came Back with 127 unopened cans of food he found thrown away by a supermarket. A  a not really in no pain Quot Negron says. Quot i get what i need and i m satisfied. I just walk Down the streets and i find what i  Quot you actually can exist from the waste of Man and its probably one of the few cities you can get away with that in Quot Isaac says. A we eat As we choose Down Here. We live As Well if not better than the average people up  they note that they Are literally surrounded by Art a murals created by artists like Chris Pape. Pape who is not homeless says Art is a kind of neat when its lucked away like that and you kind of stumble upon  a painting of Mona Lisa lights up when sunlight streaks through grates above. Other portraits feature Ted Williams Woody Guthrie Michelangelo s a David Quot Robert Kennedy the Rev. Martin Luther King or. And a break dancer. Negron has All of this and liquor too. Quot i be got me and my bottle the Best company i have Quot he says. Quot at least now i have a lot More peace of mind. I done to have no anger in me to strike Back at anybody. I done to blame anybody for  is Isaac envious of the rest of the world Quot i be had the Opportunity to get jobs Quot he says. Quot done to choose to be a robot within the system. There a not enough Money they could pay me to become another person every Day. What s important is when i look in the Mirror i like who i see. Quot we be done something that one out of every 1,000 men in creation in their lifetimes will do. We dared to be  monday june 4, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13