According to police, two more New Yorkers were arrested for subway surfing on Tuesday, continuing a disturbing trend that social media has made famous and even attracted European daredevils.
According to Chief of Transportation Michael Kemper, they are self-videotaping, sharing on social media, and doing all of this for a quick rush to gain attention and influence.
“They’re not considering the disastrous repercussions,”
On February 20, as his girlfriend gasped in terror, Zackery Nazario, 15, was killed while subway surfing atop a train thundering over the Williamsburg Bridge.
According to the police, the young man was run over by the train after being hit by a low beam and falling between two vehicles.
Ka’Von Wooden, a different 15-year-old, died in December. He hit the third rail while subway surfing on top of a train as it neared the Lower East Side’s Delancey Street/Essex Street station.
According to the MTA, the trick is becoming increasingly common; there were 928 cases last year, up from just 206 the year before.
According to Kemper, it’s not rare for cops to come across European tourists subway-surfing in the city.
He declared, “This is the best subway system in the world. It’s New York City, folks. Some are simply obsessed with subway systems.
Cops have made 55 arrests for unsafe riding this year, compared to 185 for the previous year.
The number was barely 80 in 2021. Riding between cars, outside the last vehicle, on top of a subway car, or hanging onto its side is all unsafe.
In dozens of teen-related incidents, the offender is frequently returned to the custody of their parents, and police prepare a juvenile report rather than file charges.
The only thing we want to do is stop these kids from doing it, Kemper said.
Police detained two teenage males last Friday after stopping a No. 7 train at Corona’s Junction Blvd. station.
One, a 15-year-old, was loitering in the motorman’s cab. The other, 16, was traveling on the back of the train. Both were given their mother’s custody.
Another 15-year-old child was later discovered hanging onto the final D train vehicle at the Bay 50th St. stop in Bensonhurst on Monday afternoon.
Kemper noted that the alarming increase coincides with a persistent decline in serious subway crime.
He said that since October 25, the crime rate has decreased by 22% this year. The department overloaded the system with 1,200 extra officers that day.
The pronounced declines, according to Kemper, have been caused by a significant uniformed presence combined with an increase in quality-of-life policing.
Fare evasion arrests have more than tripled this year, reaching 762. According to Kemper, those arrests usually include persons caught committing other crimes or possessing warrants.
In contrast to the 12,338 summonses issued at this time last year, 21,263 more offenders received them this year.
The crime decrease is also due to the subway system “just establishing the tone for peace and order,” according to Kemper.
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