These treasures are reel-y insane.
A Queens resident has been using a rare earth magnet to pull abandoned objects from the city’s hidden depths — finding bikes, nearly a dozen guns and even inert grenades at the bottom of Big Apple waterways.
James Kane, 39, eschews traditional lines and bait in favor a long orange rope with the magnet tied at the end to go fishing in bodies of waters at parks across the city.
“Holy crap! It’s a friggin’ gun! The first toss! Dude, it’s a Smith and Wesson,” Kane, of Jamaica, remarked to Gothamist during a recent magnet fishing outing in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake.
The rusted revolver appeared to have been underwater for decades, and within three hours of the score, Kane had also pulled in a Hi-Standard .22-caliber pistol, the outlet reported.
He called 911 and released the second firearm to the NYPD, which quickly roped off the southwestern part of the lake as a crime scene, the article said.
“If you find a body, push it back in,” one of the officers from the 78th precinct ribbed Kane, who documents his fishing exploits on his YouTube channel, LetsGetMagnetic.
Kane and his wife, Barbie Agostini, have reeled in 10 guns in the last five months, the seasoned magnet-wielder said.
Earlier this month, Kane’s efforts made headlines when he caught what appeared to be a grenade from the waters near the Holocaust Memorial in Sheepshead Bay — in a dramatic moment that he also documented on Facebook.
The object was later determined to be an inert dummy grenade.
One month ago, Kane also pulled in another inert grenade explosive from the Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, Gothamist noted.
Kane – a former Merchant Marine – told Gothamist that magnet fishing is “gross but fun.”
“I’ve always wanted treasure since I was a little kid,” he said.
“The not knowing what’s in there – I can’t live without it. I love to recover the history. Then, I research and I find out where things are from,” Kane added of the many objects he pulls up, which includes Citi Bikes – seven of which were “caught” around the Prospect Park Boathouse – knives, cans, and the inevitable bags of debris he refers to as “mystery bags.”
“Obviously I’m not affording a ship to go out and do those things. But this is like the ‘everyman’ treasure hunting,” he said of the biweekly expeditions he takes while armed with two neodymium magnets – one that can hold up to 2,400 pounds and the other rated for 3,800 pounds.
He also boasted of the hobby’s potential environmental benefit, stating that “in the process, you’re cleaning [the waterways].”
Local officials would beg to differ.
“We appreciate New Yorkers helping to keep our parks and greenspaces clean by removing litter. However, using magnets to retrieve sunken metal objects can have negative impacts on local wildlife and is not permitted,” city parks department spokesperson Chris Clark told Gothamist.
The Prospect Park Alliance shared Clark’s concerns, and stated that the pastime could harm water habitats.
Magnet fishing is more widespread in Tennessee and Florida, Kane told Gothamist.
In New York, Kane and his team – clad in bright construction vests and surrounded by fetid treasures – tend to attract an audience.
Brooklyn onlooker Al Torres told Gothamist that he was curious about the unique hobby – but decided against it once he saw Kane reel in the pistol.
“I don’t want to pull up nobody’s murder weapon. I wanted to do it in Red Hook, but I kept saying ‘no, I’m gonna find too many guns.’ So I’m gonna leave that alone,” he explained.