Some trends just refuse to fade away, even when they literally kill you. A video circulating on X shows teens riding the roof of a moving 7 train near 46th Street in Queens, New York, in broad daylight.
A teen wearing a red hoodie is seen on one of the train cars as it glides across the elevated tracks. Further back, a second person dressed in lighter clothing can be seen. The camera, set up on a platform next to the train, is filming. The surfers do not get down, and the train continues to move.
This is subway surfing. It isn’t going away.
NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said in an X video posted on May 28, 2026:
“Look at your child’s phone. They are sharing videos of each other – that is what is driving a lot of this. Check if your child has subway keys – they look like skeleton keys. You see MTA vests, or you see that they may have an MTA radio.”
The 7 train near 46th Street has its own history with this. Last year, a 15-year-old was killed after falling from a southbound 7 train onto the tracks as it pulled into Queensboro Plaza station.
Days later, another person was photographed on the roof of the same line, phone out, filming the sunset.
The trends appear to be moving towards a much deadlier pattern. MTA has recorded 928 reports of individuals riding on the exterior of the subway system in 2022, a massive increase from under 500 in 2019.
The NYPD has accounted for six deaths in 2024 from subway surfing, five more than in the year of 2023.
The most recent death was two weeks ago, when a 14-year-old male was found to be dead from falling onto the tracks from a Brooklyn-bound J train while traveling over the Williamsburg Bridge on May 23.
Internet Reacts To New York Subway Surfing Video on Queens 7 Train
The reality check came fast. “They get killed routinely doing this,” one person wrote. Another had a specific tragedy in mind: “Last time a kid did this he fell off the train and between the tracks and fell onto the street. He died,” a user commented.
One kept the advice blunt: “They want that adrenaline rush. Join the military,” one comment read.
Others pointed fingers. “This is what happens when parents don’t know what their children are doing,” a user wrote. Another was less diplomatic: “Idk maybe teach your kid not to be stupid instead of expecting every other adult to figure out why your kid is stupid and prevent them from doing stupid *expletive*,” one comment read.
Someone stepped back from the blame entirely: “There’s only so much you can do to stop self-destructive behavior,” a user commented. And one person said what everyone watching the clip already knew: “This is how kids get killed,” one comment read.
To combat these incidents, the MTA has created ‘Subway Surfing Kills – Ride Inside, Stay Alive,’ which aims to educate students about the issue through collaborations with NYC schools and public figures such as pro BMX athlete Nigel Sylvester. None of the campaigns seem effective enough, as demonstrated in the video.
