Urban exploring is in the headlines after a daredevil couple scaled the Empire State Building to get engaged atop its spire, in a publicity stunt.
The pair were Instagram famous for pulling off risky stunts, often in illegal settings, for social media content — and inspire kids to follow their lead.
Local New York City kids have been known to partake in the “urbex” trend by breaking into abandoned subway cars and theaters or scaling bridges and buildings. But such pursuits have left some injured — or dead.
“You get this feeling that you’re so free and nobody’s going to stop you—you can do whatever you want,” Chris F., a 20-year-old urban explorer from Long Island, said. “It’s a weird feeling when you’re in a building that nobody cares about and nobody goes into. It triggers this thing in your brain where you’re like, ‘Holy s–t, I could do anything.’”
Interest in urban exploring has exploded in popularity since the pandemic. On TikTok and Instagram, there are thousands of videos of mostly teens scaling buildings and exploring all sorts of creepy places, like abandoned theaters and hospitals. The Reddit forum for urban exploring attracts more than a hundred thousand viewers weekly.
Chris, who asked to withhold his last name due to privacy concerns, works night shifts at McDonald’s while pursuing a mass communication degree. He first heard about urban exploring at age 17, when a local Long Island teen posted about a nearby abandoned spot, Kings Park Psychiatric Center.
Chris went, and ever since then he spends every moment between school and work “exploring,” saying: “It turned into a whole addiction. I couldn’t keep up with normal stuff because I was constantly in buildings and making videos. I would get out of work at midnight and drive to spots. Or I’d almost be late to work because I was trying to squeeze everything into one day.”
Since then, he’s visited countless locations he learns about online, like the abandoned Morton Street School in Newark, New Jersey, and Central Islip Psychiatric Center.
“It just became addicting, the TikTok views, the Instagram views, meeting people, the insane stuff that would happen,” Chris said, admitting social media creates a cycle. “Seeing other kids do it online — and seeing people get online traction from it — made me want to go further into it.”
But taking huge risks by trespassing into places which have been closed to the public because they’re dangerous, usually to chase online clout, is incredibly risky, like subway surfing. Chris had one especially scary experience at the former military base Camp Hero in Montauk where a friend was injured after a staircase collapsed.
“He fell three stories and almost died,” Chris said. “I had to create a staircase to help all my friends back down, and then we had to walk this kid to the car. His head was busted. We probably should have called for medical help. I always said it was by the grace of God that he was okay after that.”
Other young people have been less lucky, like 20-year-old Trevon Anderson, who fell off a ladder when climbing out of underground water tunnels in Lincoln, Nebraska, this March. He died at the scene from a head injury.
“The places he’s been—it’s insane,” his mother, Alissa Anderson, told The Post. “I never knew these things existed. All of our buildings downtown have tunnels underneath, and basements. He’d explore those, and he’d go to the tops of buildings downtown. If there was an entrance or a way to get in, he’d get in.”
Anderson said she told her son, a business student at University of Nebraska–Lincoln, to be careful and stick with trusted friends. She also demanded he allow her to track his phone.
“The way he would phrase it was innocent. He was like, ‘We’re just exploring. We’re just bored.’ I never thought anything of it,” she said. “I don’t think that he thought [something tragic] would ever happen.”
Trevon isn’t the only victim of urban exploring gone awry.
Earlier this year, a 16-year-old boy who fell 50 feet into a maintenance shaft of the Queensboro Bridge while scaling it with friends was “left to die” by his friends. He ultimately survived after sustaining catastrophic injuries. In March, a 16-year-old boy fell to his death from a metal tower in Bushwick while taking photos for social media. As both were underage, they weren’t named by authorities.
New York State Police warned that month that they would charge anyone found in abandoned structures, saying in a statement: “In addition to the legal consequences, these locations are inherently dangerous. Many abandoned buildings are structurally compromised and may contain hazardous materials, open shafts, exposed wiring, or other unsafe conditions that can result in serious injury or death.”
Last December, 19-year-old Leah Palmirotto fell six stories from a shuttered hospital on Emory University’s campus which had once been used as a set for the hit show “Stranger Things.” It was shortly before 1 a.m. on a Saturday night, according to investigators.
“Leah was nineteen,” her father, Todd Palmirotto, told The Post. “Leah went in on December 19, 2025, and never came out.” He says he is still struggling to explain “what happened that night” and “how our daughter got to the roof of a six-story building and fell to her death.”
The Post reached out to Emory University for comment but did not receive a response.
These tragedies have been going on for years. Back in 2018, Rebecca Bunting, 30, died by drowning after a flash flood hit while she was taking photos of the underground storm drain system in Philadelphia, intended for the thousands of Instagram followers on her urban exploring account.
Her mother, Tina Fluharty, 64 of Shadyside, Maryland, says her daughter had been obsessed with photographing obscure locations since she gifted her a camera at age 19.
“I think it was just part of her nature—to be curious,” Fluharty told The Post. “She didn’t just go look at places and take pictures. She would research them. She loved it. ‘What went on here? Why?’”
But her mother became concerned when Rebecca sent increasingly precarious photos from her trips. “I was very concerned,” she admitted. “She was too fearless. I’d think, ‘Be careful. Step away from the edge, girl.’”
Tragedy struck in June 2018, when Fluharty sent police to conduct a welfare check on her daughter. “What I didn’t realize is, they were already looking for her… as the woman who was swept away by floodwaters,” she said. “I never thought it would actually happen. Nobody thinks that, until the day it happens.”
Jamie D., a 25-year-old urban explorer from Connecticut, does what she can to avoid tragedy. She told The Post one of her friends once fell from the second floor to the first of an abandoned home. “Luckily, she just had a bunch of bruises, but she was okay,” Jamie, who also asked to withhold her last name, said.
“I’ve definitely missed out on some cool spots because I just don’t want to risk my life,” she added. “People may call me a baby for it, but I’m not going to climb something crazy or walk over a floor that’s collapsing.”
Ben Mitchell, a 19-year-old from Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, says he sees urban exploring as an “art form,” as a form of self expression, but admits “there are a lot of bad actors,” especially as it has blowen up on social media.
He and others who spoke to The Post said they were less worried about the consequences when they were younger as it’s widely understood in the community minors are treated less harshly for trespassing.
Juvenile trespassing cases are also usually handled in family court, where proceedings are confidential and don’t produce criminal records.
None of the urban explorers who spoke with The Post have been charged with a crime. Chris had one encounter with a police officer while exploring in Long Island, but was let go without incident.
“It’s widely known that you pretty much get let off any [minor] charge if you’re under 18,” he said. “A lot of these kids have it in their heads: ‘I’ve got to go hard until I turn 18.’ They usually don’t stop when they turn 18.”
Despite the legal and safety concerns, the urban explorers who spoke with The Post say they will continue seeking the thrill. Surprisingly, even Fluharty, who lost her own daughter, thinks it can be “worthwhile.”
“I do think urban exploring is a worthwhile endeavor,” she said.
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