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NYPD Drone Program Marks 200 Subway Surfing Rescues as Lawsuit Advances Against Meta and ByteDance

Since late 2023, more than 340 flights have targeted elevated sections of the 7 train in Queens to intercept mostly teenage surfers.

A 7 train runs on an elevated subway track in 2018.
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Overview

  • Drones have enabled officers to safely remove 200 individuals from moving trains, with the average rescued rider aged 15 and as young as 11.
  • Sixty percent of the 343 deployments this year identified active surfers, prompting transit units to halt trains and extract riders.
  • Elevated tracks on the 7 line account for nearly half of all subway surfing incidents detected by the NYPD.
  • City data shows at least 16 deaths and over 20 serious injuries, including amputations and brain trauma, linked to subway surfing since 2022.
  • A judge has cleared Norma Nazario’s wrongful death suit against Meta and ByteDance to proceed, accusing platforms of promoting the deadly trend.