The Straight Dope: Are there alligators living in the sewers of New York?

The Straight Dope: Are there alligators living in the sewers of New York?
I've been getting weekly mailings from the Straight Dope website for quite a while now. Every Friday a new set of three reader submitted questions and well researched answers are shared with the mailing list. This week they get to the bottom of the New York sewer gators. Apparently, there were alligators in the sewers in the 30s. They probably got there because there was a brief fad of giving children genuine Florida alligators as pets. And just like the nutria in the bayou, when they were no longer wanted as pets, they were released into the sewers. Once discovered by the superintendent of the sewer, the gators were all exterminated.

Many other interesting legends and scientific questions (a lot of what ifs) are there for the browsing.