#subway-surfing

#subway-surfing

In a 327-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Manhattan federal court, the city alleged that Meta, Alphabet, Snap, and ByteDance created a "public nuisance" and a " youth mental health crisis" by intentionally exploiting the psychology of young users to keep them hooked. The city alleged in the complaint that the platforms' algorithms are designed to maximize engagement at the expense of children's mental health, contributing to sleep loss, chronic absenteeism, and risky behavior such as "subway surfing," meaning riding on top of moving trains.

Ka'Von Wooden loved trains. The 15-year-old had an encyclopedic knowledge of New York City's subway system and dreamed of becoming a train operator. Instead, on a December morning in 2022, Ka'Von died after he climbed to the roof of a moving J train in Brooklyn and then fell onto the tracks as it headed onto the Williamsburg Bridge. He is one of more than a dozen New Yorkers, many young boys, who have been killed or badly injured after falling off speeding trains.

Ka'Von Wooden loved trains. The 15-year-old had an encyclopedic knowledge of New York City's subway system and dreamed of becoming a train operator. Instead, on a December morning in 2022, Ka'Von died after he climbed to the roof of a moving J train in Brooklyn and then fell onto the tracks as it headed onto the Williamsburg Bridge. He is one of more than a dozen New Yorkers, many young boys, who have been killed or badly injured after falling off speeding trains.

It's heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game, Crichlow said. Parents, teachers, and friends need to be clear with loved ones: getting on top of a subway car isn't surfing'it's suicide. I'm thinking of both the grieving families and transit workers who discovered these children, all of whom have been horribly shaken by this tragedy.

Over 200 people rescued, mostly teens, from subway surfing since the program began. This includes 52 people removed from moving trains in 2025.

The MTA has started its 'Ride Inside, Stay Alive' campaign targeting subway surfing, aiming to reduce the trend that has recently led to critical injuries and fatalities.