Let's face it, the only reason you're reading this text is because you're saying to yourself "Holy fucking shit, that place looks awesome - I want to go there immediately". And this is where I break your heart by telling you it no longer exists. I mean, so far as I know the building is still there, but one of the last times we were in it, it was pretty empty.

These are the pre-auction photos. The side of exploring that is rarely seen or admitted to until after the fact - in this case, significantly after the fact. So while we can't tell you where this is, how to get in, and that you can still get a boatload of awesome photos of really cool stuff, we can share the story...

Adventure
When we heard of this hospital closing down, we suspected it would be worth checking out. I didn't expect much, since at this point hospitals tend to bore me. As usual I went ahead and scouted the location solo, in daylight. Out front at the lobby is a private car, no doubt owned by a security guard in the lobby of the building. That's ok. Guards are not well paid and prone to sitting on their ass talking on their cell phones all night - and this is a big set of buildings. Don't get me wrong - it's a risk, but a calculated one.

The buildings seem really well sealed, but there was one corner of the property that looked like it might lead to an opening away from the surrounding streets. Like Barry in an episode of storage wars, I was on the hook. I had to get in there and find out.

A big part of a mission such as this one is hand picking who you want to bring along. You don't want to barge in with a huge crew that gets cops attention (especially in a ghetto NYC area, where cops are out in numbers not seen in nearly any other city on the planet). You need someone slick, fast, and brazen. You need someone like my nigga Sleazy.

Sleazy doesn't know how to fail at getting in. In 10 years, it has not happened.

So we arrive late in the evening and get a feel for the area. Loads of cops driving around. Fortunately we can get onto the property and out of their sight quickly. Once in though, we find the real challenge: getting in.

Every door and window is sealed. We start climbing. Windows facing this short rooftop are also sealed. We climb again, to more doors, more windows, and nothing promising. Across ledges, over fences, this is getting to be a workout, and it's one of those hot city nights to boot.

The higher we go, the more exposed we are. Anyone passing by that happens to look up might notice what's going on, and everyone in this area knows this hospital is closed.

Through some daredevil wizardy we arrive on the very tall roof. Here, finally, we find an open door into the elevator room, which connects to a hallway, where there are stairs...

We creep down the stairs - all lights are on. Arriving at the top floor is utterly surreal. There's the hum of cooling fans, the beeping of random lab machines. Blinking lights on every machine. Everything - absolutely everything is still here, and still turned on. It feels like some doctor is going to walk out of an office at any second, but there is no one here. The staff literally just walked away, practically yesterday.

No sign of cameras, motion sensors or anything else. Clearly they were not expecting someone to sneak in, much less sneak in via the roof, as if a fucking helicopter dropped us off from ropes with ninja swords and invisibility cloaks.

What was inside? The photos speak for themselves. Full on awesome.

The escape was simpler, yet terrifying in the fact that mere seconds seperated us from walking out into full view of a passing patrol car. If there's a reason no one else was either brazen or stupid enough to pull off this mission, that would be it. Right there.

And that's how it went down. Hands down one of the most ninja, most insanely awesome exploring missions I ever had the honor of going on.