NYPD drones have been used to help rescue more than 200 people, mostly teens, from the tops, sides and rears of moving trains since the program to fight against subway surfing launched in late 2023, city officials announced Monday.
At a press conference in Queens on Jul. 21, Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch credited the drone deployments with preventing deaths and serious injuries caused by the dangerous stunt, which has surged among city youth in recent years and is often fueled by videos and trends on social media.
“Subway surfing is dangerous. There’s no other way to get around it,” Adams said. “Those are 200 potential lives that we could have lost because of subway surfing. It’s not a game. It’s not an adventure. It’s a dangerous action that must be dealt with appropriately.”
The NYPD has conducted more than 340 drone operations over the past 19 months, including 125 so far this year, that led to 52 people being removed from trains, Adams said. The average age of those rescued in 2025 was 15, with the youngest just 11.
“It is unimaginable for any parent,” Adams said. “Young people often do things that are reckless, not understanding the full impact of it. That’s why we must make adult decisions to ensure that we keep them out of harm’s way as they go into the natural state of a young person exploring.”
Tisch said 60% of the 340 drone deployments identified active subway surfers, primarily on elevated tracks along the 7 train in Queens, which she said accounted for 50% of all subway surfing incidents.
“This is not guesswork,” she said. “These are focused deployments based on pattern analysis through 911 call data and incident response.”
The NYPD does not currently use drone speakers to warn individuals atop trains but relies on nearby transit officers.
She said that once drone cameras catch a person riding outside a train, officers radio nearby transit units to stop the train safely and remove the individual.
“Subway surfing is not a trend, it’s not a rite of passage, and it’s certainly not viral entertainment,” Tisch said. “It is Russian roulette on rails, and too many kids are playing it without understanding the stakes.”
Tisch said that while the rescues lead to arrests, the department considers them “saves” because they are ultimately about protecting lives. Four teenagers were apprehended earlier this month in the Bronx for subway surfing, marking the NYPD’s 200th arrest, or “save.”
She said that since tracking began in 2022, the NYPD has identified 63 repeat subway surfing offenders, with an average age of 14. Some have been caught multiple times, including one individual stopped 13 times.
According to NYPD data, 16 people have died and at least 20 others have suffered serious injuries, including limb amputations and traumatic brain injuries, since 2022.
‘Stop pushing dangerous challenges to our kids’
Tisch called out the social media companies and app developers, she said, were fueling the trend.
“Social media platforms need to take this content down, not after it’s gone viral, but before it can spread. And for the app developers who gamify this deadly behavior, you are part of the problem too,” said Tisch.
“We won’t tolerate it, and neither should app stores. That’s the work we’re doing,” she added.
One mother stood alongside city officials on Monday, trying to hold social media companies accountable in court.
Norma Nazario, whose 15-year-old son Zachary died while subway surfing in 2023, spoke at the press conference as she held up her son’s funeral card.
“I want to say this clearly, no parent, no parent should ever have carried their child’s funeral card in their wallet, in their pocketbook, anywhere. That’s why I’m here, because we have to do more to keep our children safe,” she said.
“That’s 200 kids who were stopped before it was too late. Two hundred families who don’t have to live with the grief I carry every day,” she continued. “But this can’t just fall on the police. Social media companies must step up. Take these videos down, please. Stop pushing dangerous challenges to our kids.”
Nazario recently spoke to amNewYork about the wrongful death lawsuit against social media giants TikTok (ByteDance Inc.) and Instagram (Meta Platforms Inc.), which a judge ruled last month could proceed to trial.
She aims to prove that the platforms promoted the viral stunt that led to her son’s death. Zachary died instantly after he was struck by an overhead beam on the Williamsburg Bridge while atop a Manhattan-bound J train the evening of Feb. 20, 2023.
Council Member Francisco Moya, who represents parts of Queens served by the 7 line, praised the city’s response after his district saw the most recent subway surfing death earlier this month.
Carlos Oliver, 15, of the Bronx, was killed after falling from atop a seven train on July 4.
“We need to do more here than just bringing the drone system here in place, but they’ve been adding programs in our schools to give kids an opportunity to get off the streets, to look at other avenues in which they can channel their abilities to be doing something more productive,” said Moya.
“This isn’t about punishment. It’s about prevention, innovation, and protecting our kids,” he added.
