Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday the city’s ongoing efforts to combat subway surfing will now permanently include the use of drones.

“We’ve 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.

What You Need To Know

  • Drones will now permanently be used to combat subway surfing. They were first used in a pilot program in November

  • There have been six subway surfing-related deaths this year, with the most recent being a 13-year-old in Corona, Queens

  • City officials said they have saved more than 100 lives with the help of drones, including identifying people on top of trains

Six New Yorkers have died from riding outside of the train cars this year, according to police.

The latest death was a 13-year-old girl who died in Corona, Queens on Sunday. Police said the incident happened at the 111th Street station on the 7 line. The teenager’s friend was also subway surfing and remains in critical condition.

“Parents don’t want to have to experience this and our goal is to eradicate it as much as possible,” Adams said. “This is real. This is just not having fun. It can be fatal.”

This isn’t the first time drones have been used. They were launched as a pilot program in November and became an official tool in the fight against subway surfing in June.

Joint teams of officers will be deployed to areas experiencing high complaints about subway surfing.

Drones will be used to identify anyone riding outside of a car. If a subway surfer is identified, the train will be held at the next stop and the person will be removed, but not arrested.

“First and foremost, rescuing these children before they are hurt is a team effort and the use of drone technology has made this task a lot easier,” Kaz Daughtry, deputy commissioner of operations at the NYPD, said. “Drones provide the necessary aerial over watch, allowing our officers to quickly locate and save these children.”

City officials say more than 100 lives have been saved since January, ranging in age from nine years old to 33.

Despite the city’s efforts, deaths are still occurring. The mayor pushed back against the criticism on Thursday.

“How many lives did we save by seat belts? We don’t count the number of seat belts by the number of deaths. We count seat belts by the number of lives,” Adams said. “So to not really understand why removing 100 people off the top of the train is not a way of saving lives, we may just have to disagree on that.” 

Other efforts the city has undertaken include the anti-subway surfing campaign: “Ride Inside, Stay Alive,” getting parents involved and aware, and going after social media companies that promote the activity. 

“They have an obligation to not put social media over public safety,” Adams said.