I'm a descendant from a family of coal miners from South Wales, although my Grandfather had to ultimately go to seek his fortune elsewhere (London) in 1930 because of the depression and the local mines being shut as a result. I've always had the utmost respect for the men (and their families) that have been the founders of their communities and/or cities by hewing the resources of the Earth to be used as either a saleable commodity or in the building of grand structures that improve the infrastructure for thousands, if not millions, of their fellow citizens. The men in this video are no exception! Keep up the hard work lads! ;) :D

These men are true heroes Thanks so much for enlighting the citizenry

Neil Hickey is actually my uncle. Terrence Hickey is my father, and I'm the fourth generation sandhog in my family, working graveyard shift with my father, who is the Safety Coordinator.

Underachievers? I'm a sandhog. And I goto College. Half of us down there have been to College. It's a generation thing. Passed down from father to son. We are the lifeline of New York City. We are what makes that city be able to function, everyday. We risk our lives, every 10 foot, for millions of people to get drinking water, and to get decent transportation. On top of that, I'm getting about $39 an hour, and tons of benefits that college students will never get.

Going below the collar isnt a job for everyone but ive been doing it for 22 years now and i would not do anything else. It gives us the same sense of pride that fireman experience. I AM A HARDROCK MINER. aka "a sandhog"

I worked as a sandhog for a little while. I wouldnt go back to it but I respect anyone who sticks it out down there.

There was a rumor that I heard about a few years ago that someone wanted to see how deep you could actually go underneath NYC, so they went down... really REALLY far! Supposedly they went down into the ground for more than a mile! They eventually gave up bc they got scared that they'd never be able to get back. That's the video that I'm looking for!!

And G-d bless you for the work you do!

Hmm can't they wear respirators to prevent the lung diseases?

Here I am 15 years later curious what's going on.

You don't apply, you shape. You stand around and hope the person running the shift will higher you, until you can buy a union book for about $800, then you get in on the shift you want, generally.

@ShuraHaidate Sounds like a hell of a deal to me.

Sandhogs are hard working people.

Do they appear bright enough to figure that out?

HardRock ☘️🇺🇸👍 God Bless Da Sandhogs. 🙏

One of them looks like Gordon Ramsey

They are still building this thing. Do you think the same workers r there?

I'm here from 2019

Amazing men. I wonder if any women work there now.

the harder the work,the more honorable the profesion,it ain't about the money,but it pays bill,bud,jack,and sam,uncle sam.anyway hats off to you "sand hogs"!

@anotherNYer there is about 2 lol

where could i go to apply wheres ur headquaters at do they drug test you

first word and i thought ur comment was a pun but then no

What do these guys make?

600ft. try 5000+ft down, theres a reason they are wearing street clothes. you havent even gotten far enough to heat up (2300-3500ft). you have more deaths in a single tunnel then all of Canadas mines in 10 years combined. fools teaching fools. and thats 25,000+ miners working alot further down and under multiple times the rock pressure. props for not giving up a dirty job and keepin at er, but dont tell the tale like its the roughest n toughest. because its not even close. the hazards you have are created by negligence and stupidity and not work conditions. No gas monitors, safety glasses/high vis/barricades/radios. enjoi your own mess !

UUMMMmm... NO! I assure you. lol

Thank God for higher education is all I have to say! Bad enough living down in that mess of a city but working down in the bowels of it? Holy shit, they couldn't pay me enough!

are they all Masons?

I don't see much diversity in this mix of guys. I wonder if certain kinds of people are traditionally excluded from this line of work.