The rumor that alligators live in the sewers of New York City dates back to the 1920s or '30s. Legend has it that tourists in Florida would buy baby alligators as souvenirs, bring them home, and then flush them once they got too big, leading to a city with sewers swarming with alligators, which would be super-cool (and super-scary) if true. Unfortunately, it's not true. Alligators live in warm climates and likely wouldn't survive the frigid New York winters. Also, no creature would last long if they had to spend all their time swimming around in sewage.