© Anne-Marie Caruso / NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) — New York City council members will be addressing the dangers of subway surfing during a hearing today. Several council committees will host the hearing that will seek to better understand why subway surfing is occurring. They will also look into how the MTA, police department and Department of Education are addressing the trend involving teenagers and social media . There’s been six subway surfing deaths this year and 181 related arrests in New York City. A recent campaign was launched to highlight the dangers of subway surfing.
Mayor Adams says from 2021 to 2022, the city saw a 366-percent increase in subway surfing. He says the blame for the uptick in the dangerous trend falls squarely on social media platforms. He says platforms like Instagram amplify the videos of kids surfing a top trains, making them viral stars.
The mayor says a pilot program using drones saved 114 surfers, of which the average age was 14. Once a surfer is spotted, a field team holds the train at the next station and removes them. Officials are also urging the public to call 9-1-1 if they see a subway surfer and are calling for social media companies to take surfing videos down.
