You are reading

‘Subway Surfing’ Numbers Through Roof As MTA Warns Kids to Learn From Tragedies

A 7 train pulls into the 111th Street station in Queens, where a teenager was found unconscious after allegedly train surfing. June 24, 2022. | Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITY

Logo for THE CITY

This article was originally published by The CITY on June 27

Reports of “subway surfing” have jumped by nearly 363% since 2020, according to MTA figures provided to THE CITY.

In the first five months of this year, there have been 449 reported incidents of people riding on top of or outside trains, MTA data shows — almost as many as the 461 in all of 2019.

That’s up from 97 for the same time period in 2020, when subway ridership plummeted by more than 90% during the peak of the pandemic and from 68 last year.

“We have hundreds of recorded incidents that this has occurred in our system in the last few months,” Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, said Monday during an MTA committee meeting. “I am going to implore anyone who is watching this to tell your kids, to tell your friends: Do not do this.”

The MTA provided the numbers to THE CITY last week amid a string of recent high-profile subway surfing incidents, several of which have been posted to social media.

On Thursday, a 15-year-old boy was critically injured after police said he hit his head against an unknown object while riding atop a No. 7 train as it approached the 111th Street station in Queens.

“Oh my God,” gasped Maritza Santos, 44, whose 14-year-son, Eric Rivera, was killed in November 2019 after striking something as he rode on top of a No. 7 train near Queensboro Plaza. “I can’t believe they don’t learn unless they didn’t see what happened to Eric.

“I’m just shocked that kids are still doing this,” she told THE CITY.

Santos, who has three other sons, said she was pulling for the unidentified teenager, who police said was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center after suffering severe head trauma.

“I pray that he gets well,” she said. “I understand what his family is going through.”

In a graphic video obtained by THE CITY, the teen’s legs dangle over the side of the train car while he lays bloodied on top.

The voice of a woman on the platform can be heard saying in Spanish, “I’m sorry, but this had to happen so that they stop doing this.”

The gruesome scene follows other risky subway stunts, including a June 12 incident in which at least eight subway surfers dressed in black were filmed while they ran on top of a train as it approached the Marcy Avenue stop in Brooklyn.

Last month, Sarah Meyer, the MTA’s chief customer officer, replied on Twitter that transit workers “hate cleaning up body parts of subway surfers” after someone tweeted to @NYCTSubway that “running on your trains is hella fun.”

“This isn’t the way to earn keys,” Meyer tweeted in response to someone who had posted “Hoping to be an MTA worker and get them keys.”

‘Reckless’ and ‘Inconsiderate’

Following Thursday’s subway surfing incident at the 111th Street stop, MTA’s chief safety officer Patrick Warren, called the daredevil acts “reckless, extremely dangerous and inconsiderate” because of the delays they cause.

On Monday, Davey repeated that subway surfing is both potentially deadly and delays trains.

“Please, please, please do something else with your time,” Davey said. “But surfing is dangerous.”

The increase in reported incidents of people riding outside of trains comes as ridership has returned to about 60% of pre-pandemic levels, MTA data shows, with the number of daily subway trips topping 3.9 million nine times in the first 16 days of June.

Transit workers themselves have also posted videos to social media of people climbing on top of trains from the open area between subway cars.

The top of a 7 train. Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITY

“It’s all about getting the message out there that it’s some dumb shit — it’s not safe,” said Canella Gomez, a Transport Workers Union Local 100 official who represents train operators and conductors. “It seems like right now this is just a fad and hopefully after this last kid got hurt, it stops.”

Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, pointed out that the increase in the dangerous game mirrors the rise since 2019 in subway track intrusions.

“I was on a train on the 7 and they were stopping the train and waiting for police because there were multiple people riding on the outside of the train,” Daglian told THE CITY. “I think riders are fed up — subways are not a toy and subway surfing is dangerous and disruptive.”

For Santos, the series of subway stunts make no sense and sharpen the pain of losing her son shortly before his 15th birthday. She noted that he would have graduated from high school this year.

“I will never be the same person,” she said. “It is a pain that doesn’t go away.”

THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Fall fun in western Queens: Your guide to the best seasonal events

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

With beach days and summer BBQs behind us, the start of September rings in the start of magnificent Fall foliage, Halloween and more fun activities that come with the start of Autumn, including a list of Fall events in the area. From apple picking to seasonal ciders and more, there is tons to explore in the community. From Mystic Markets to scary movie meet-ups and more, here is a list of Fall events you do not want to miss.

A hidden gem in Sunnyside: Bistro Punta Sal blends Peruvian and Italian flavors

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

On a quiet street in Sunnyside, Bistro Punta Sal has its French doors wide open, letting the late August breeze emanate throughout the space, which is ornate with flowers, paintings and an array of tables and chairs for intimate dinners with friends or a romantic date night. The cozy restaurant, located at 45-51 46th St., is a hidden gem in the neighborhood that is just waiting to be discovered, as the sights and aromas of the restaurant invite guests in. 

Off-duty paramedic spots South Richmond Hill two-alarm house fire that injures nine firefighters, two civilians on Friday morning: FDNY

Nine firefighters were injured, two of them seriously, and two civilians sustained minor injuries during a two-alarm house fire in South Richmond Hill on Friday morning, but it could have been worse if not for the actions of an off-duty veteran EMT.

Paramedic Craig Biscuiti was driving to work when he noticed a column of thick black smoke and heavy flames coming from the first floor of a two-story home at 95-36 111th St. just before 7:10 a.m.

Astoria doctor sentenced to more than two decades in prison for rape and sexual abuse: DA

An Astoria doctor was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Thursday in Queens Supreme Court for raping unconscious acquaintances and sexually abusing hospital patients.

Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng, 35, of Broadway, pleaded guilty on June 30 to four counts of rape in the first degree and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in satisfaction of the consolidated indictments against him. He additionally entered an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse. The defendant — a former gastroenterologist at New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital — recorded the abuse of his unconscious victims with his cell phone in both his Astoria apartment and at the hospital.