A 16-year-old boy was injured while subway surfing at the Briarwood-Van Wyck Boulevard subway station over the weekend.
Police from the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows responded to a 911 call reporting an injured teenager on the roadbed just before 9 p.m. on Saturday. Officers found the fallen youngster on the northbound F train platform with injuries to his legs, police said Monday. A preliminary investigation determined the teen was on top of a subway car and fell as the F train entered the station.
The teen was not struck by the subway and EMS transported him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
From 2021 to 2022, social media fueled a 366% increase in subway surfing across the city. In response, the MTA launched its “Subway Surfing Kills—Ride Inside, Say Alive” campaign, which included public service announcements in stations recorded by students, digital signage across stations’ student-created graphics and animations, and social media posts on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
In October, Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD urged New Yorkers to call 911 to combat subway surfing and highlighted the use of drones to spot young people when they put their lives in jeopardy by riding atop subway cars.
“We have changed the dynamics, and we’ve become more proactive by allowing the drone operation to be incorporated in the heavily used train lines where subway surfing is taking place,” Adams said.
Drone technology would not have spotted the 16-year-old on top of the F train on Saturday night. NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry noted that the number of plainclothes officers on underground lines has increased to combat subway surfing, and outreach with the Department of Education is helping as well.
“We are making strides by partnering with teachers and educators who serve as vital mentors,” Daughtry said. “We need to encourage a discussion in the classroom about the realities of subway surfing, highlighting that such behavior can lead to permanent disfigurement or, in certain cases, death. It is not glamorous. It is tragic.”
