"Urbex" social media influencers prompt spate of dangerous trespassing incidents, New York State Police say
Social media influencers are driving a dangerous trend of people trespassing to explore abandoned buildings, New York State Police say.
Arrests have been made for trespassing at a vacant IBM office park in Northern Westchester in recent weeks, while a suspicious fire there remains under investigation.
"This isn't a mistake. They're intentionally going in a vacant building, putting lives at risk. Their own, and ours," Somers Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief George Wahlers said.
Wahlers said the danger was very real. There were difficult conditions in the abandoned IBM complex in Somers where trespassers started a fire. First responders had to stretch hoses 600 feet to reach the hot spots. Many doors had been chained shut or blocked to try to stop trespassers, but that increased the danger for firefighters.
The IBM complex has been shuttered for a decade, but it's proving irresistible for "urbex" influencers on social media. They're urban explorers who trespass in order to wander through abandoned buildings.
"They're taking videos and putting it on Instagram or TikTok of 'look what I did,'" Wahlers said.
One such video posted in January shows the inside of the IBM complex, and may have prompted a flurry of new interest in illegal exploration there.
"Somebody sees something on social media that they think is going to give them attention, or they think is a fun, quick easy way to share the experience, no matter how dangerous it might be, other individuals are going to follow suit," New York State Police Maj. Daniel Smith said.
The IBM property is plastered with "no trespassing" signs, but people ignore them. New York State Police have arrested about a dozen people for trespassing there so far this year. The property owner is stepping up security, and State Police are warning would-be trespassers they'll face arrest.
