Mayor Adams and NYPD Commissioner Tisch Announce Milestone in Life-Saving Drone Program to Stop Subway Surfing

July 21, 2025

Watch the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8MGjvmPNa0

From Emergency Response to Youth Safety, NYPD Drones Deliver Life-Saving Results

Deployed to Monitor Subway Lines, Drones Helped Prevent Deadly Stunts — Made 200 Saves

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch today announced that 200 rescues have been made through the NYPD's drone and enforcement operations targeting subway surfing— a dangerous trend that has claimed lives and continues to put young New Yorkers at serious risk. This milestone marks a significant step forward in the city’s strategy to prevent fatalities by combining technology, enhanced transit enforcement, social media monitoring, and targeted youth outreach to schools and neighborhoods where young people are most affected.

“Drones are saving lives — from our beaches to our subways — and helping keep New York the safest big city in America,” said Mayor Adams. “Subway surfing isn’t a game. It’s deadly, and it’s putting our youth at risk. Thanks to this program, we’ve made 200 rescues, and this year alone, we’ve already safely rescued subway surfers from trains 52 times before tragedy struck. Let me be clear: Riding outside a train is not only dangerous, but it is also a crime, and there is zero tolerance for it. We’ll keep using every tool and every technology to protect our children and build a safer city for all New Yorkers.”

“Subway surfing isn’t a thrill-seeking trend — it’s a tragedy waiting to happen. The NYPD’s drones have made the difference between life or death, using cutting-edge technology to make 200 rescues, mostly of teens, since late 2023,” said NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “Our drone teams are strategically deployed to hotspot locations where we know these incidents occur, providing eyes above to monitor trains and signaling to patrol units below when a rescue needs to be made. We are not going to wait for the next fatality, it’s our job to use every tool available to change this reckless, deadly behavior, and I thank Mayor Adams for his work to keep our kids safe.”

In response to the rise of subway surfing incidents beginning in 2022, the NYPD launched a targeted drone and field response program in November 2023. As part of this effort, the NYPD deploys drones and field response teams to subway lines with the highest rates of subway surfing complaints, using 911 and 311 call data and tips from concerned New Yorkers to identify the most at-risk locations. These drones — equipped with 4K cameras and long-range zoom — provide live aerial surveillance that help officers intervene before a stunt becomes fatal. Once a subway surfer is spotted, officers can alert the next station to stop the train and safely remove the individual from harm’s way.

Officers have already conducted more than 340 drone operations across the subway system since the program's launch. So far, this year alone, there were 125 deployments that have resulted in individuals being safely removed from moving trains 52 times already. Those removed in 2025 have ranged in age from 11 to 36 years old, with an average age of 15. In previous years, the youngest individual on record to be removed from a train for subway surfing was just nine years old. These operations have helped save lives 200 times by identifying and intervening when individuals were found riding on the top, sides, or rear of train cars.

Subway surfing remains an extremely dangerous activity with potentially fatal consequences. The NYPD began tracking this behavior in 2022, when it first emerged, and has since recorded 32 reported aided cases — individuals who required medical assistance — including 16 confirmed deaths. Overall, a total of 63 individuals have been identified as repeat subway surfer offenders, including 18 reoffenders this year alone — demonstrating the persistence of this risky behavior and underscoring the need for sustained youth engagement.

The majority of these incidents are concentrated along specific routes; 44 percent of this year’s removals occurred on the 7-train line, and more than half of all apprehensions took place in Queens.

The NYPD continues to conduct home visits for individuals caught subway surfing, engaging directly with their families to explain the life-threatening dangers involved and offer support services. Since the start of this effort, officers have made more than 100 home visits to subway surfers identified through enforcement efforts with the goal of preventing repeat offenses and building stronger partnerships with parents. During these visits, families are encouraged to have young people in the household partake in positive alternatives — including NYPD Community Center programs, New York Public Library Teen Centers, New York City Department of Youth and Community Development after-school programs, the Public Schools Athletic League, and the NYPD Explorers Program — to help keep them engaged in safe, meaningful activities. Families are provided a resource card, available in both English and Spanish, and a full list of resources for families can be accessed via the NYPD Transit’s Linktree.

To complement the enforcement and prevention strategy, the city is continuing to highlight the “Subway Surfing Kills – Ride Inside, Stay Alive” campaign launched by Mayor Adams, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in September 2023. This comprehensive, multi-channel public information campaign, in partnership with New York City Public Schools, the NYPD, and the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, was designed for and was created by New York City teenagers — putting the youth voice front and center in a peer-to-peer effort to deter this dangerous behavior among young people. The campaign's electronic fliers were disseminated at all 1,600+ New York City Public Schools locations. Additionally, anti-subway surfing posters and palm cards were distributed to schools in proximity to the J, M, Z, and 7 train lines, which garner the most subway surfing complaints.

“Subway Surfing Kills – Ride Inside, Stay Alive” includes public service announcements in stations recorded by students; digital signage across stations; student-created graphics and animations; posters and banners across stations and distributed in schools; physical palm cards distributed at schools and in stations; school swag including planners, pens, pencils, notepads, and sticky notes; social media posts across platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube in the form of posts, reels/shorts, and influencer collaborations. Meta, Google, and TikTok also made space available on their platforms to help amplify the new messaging campaign.

In February 2024, Mayor Adams also announced a lawsuit against social media companies for the negative impacts they have had on young people, and cited subway surfing as one of the examples. The case remains ongoing.

Building on this administration’s innovative use of technology to enhance public safety, the NYPD launched their Drone as First Responder (DFR) program in November 2024 — a first-in-the nation initiative that deploys drones in response to 911 calls and emergency incidents. The DFR program allows NYPD officers certified as a drone pilot by the Federal Aviation Administration to dispatch drones rapidly from remote locations, providing real-time aerial footage and critical situational awareness to officers on the ground — often arriving faster than patrol cars or emergency personnel.

The DFR program is one component of the NYPD’s broader drone program, which, since late-2018, has used drones to support a wide range of public safety operations, including recreating floor plans with 360-degree views and searching collapsed structures, facilitating two-way communication with barricaded individuals, tracking fleeing crime suspects, documenting collision and crime scenes, conducting evidence searches, assisting with warrant executions, and helping to effect rescues during storms. NYPD drones were also used to inspect the structural integrity of buildings and bridges following the region’s 4.8-magnitude earthquake last year. Additionally, the technology can potentially be used to deliver vital first-aid equipment — such as automated external defibrillators, tourniquets, and naloxone (a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose) — to bystanders at emergency scenes.

Further, drone deployments are part of the city’s summer safety strategy, including efforts to protect swimmers by monitoring shark activity near city beaches and having the capability to drop flotation devices to swimmers in distress.

"Subway surfing is an incredibly dangerous activity, so I support any and all efforts to combat the subway surfing trend and to help protect our youth," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. "I encourage our young people to ignore the social media posts that hype up subway surfing, and to be smart about their safety. Stay alive and ride inside!" 

“I urge every parent, teacher, and caregiver to engage in open and honest discussions with teenagers about the dangers of subway surfing,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “Let’s remind them that social media 'likes' and momentary thrills are not worth the ultimate price of their lives.”

“Mayor Adams’ successful deployment of drones to deter subway surfing is a powerful example of how innovation can save lives,” said New York City Councilmember Francisco Moya. “Far too many young New Yorkers have been injured or killed by this dangerous trend, and we couldn’t stand by any longer. By using drones strategically, we’re not just enforcing the law—we’re protecting our youth and preventing tragedy. I’m proud to see our city take bold, smart steps to keep our communities safe.”

“Riding outside subway cars isn’t a video game, it’s suicidal, which is why the MTA monitors social media platforms, resulting in thousands fewer videos online glorifying that deadly behavior,” said MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara.

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