Editor’s note: Due to two pressing and timely issues, there are two op-eds for this week released by the Mayor’s Office. The drought is currently ongoing, and it is necessary for New Yorkers to take steps to prevent it from worsening. While we all take for granted that pure, clean water will come out of our taps, this year’s unprecedented lack of rainfall has made it necessary to make local residents aware of the problem so it can be prevented from getting worse.
The second issue discussed in the below opinion is about young people taking their lives into their own hands and riding on top of train cars. Many people have already been killed or maimed by this extremely dangerous practice. Unlike an outdoor train system (which is still very dangerous to ride on), the subway’s enclosed space, low ceilings, and protrusions from the ceilings at random intervals (lights and signs mostly, along with other electronics and equipment), there is no safe way to ride on top of a subway car. It is going so fast that you cannot possibly know when a low ceiling point is about to hit you. This is what has cost those residents their lives or their limbs. As the mayor says, this has to stop.
You can also see the Mayor’s PSA on the side banner, which links to an informational video about this issue. Staten Islander also reported on both the issues in these op-eds: kids riding on top of subway cars and the drought situation (among a number of other topics), on Friday.
Riding on Top of Trains Takes Lives
Last week in New York City, a young girl died, and another was seriously injured while illegally riding on top of a moving subway train. As New Yorkers have seen in far too many headlines — this is not an isolated incident. The allure of social media fame has lured too many young people onto the top of trains, and the consequences have been deadly. What is worse, the companies whose algorithms promote this deadly content haven’t done nearly enough to put an end to it.
Here in New York City, we’re doing our part to protect young New Yorkers from the dangers of riding atop trains. In November 2023, the NYPD started a program that uses real data from 911 and 311 reports of people riding on top of trains. The police department then deploys drones and field teams to those areas based on the call data, during the busiest days and times.
Two drones conduct patrols over the trains and officers look for anyone riding on top. If so, the field team is notified, and as the train pulls into the next station, the train is held so the individuals can be removed. Since the NYPD began conducting these operations, there have been over 1,000 drone flights that have helped stop those riding on the top of trains. More importantly, our officers have helped save the lives of 114 individuals — ranging from nine years old to 33 years old, with the average age being 14 years old.
We need your help to make this drone program work. No matter who you are or where you see it, if you see anyone trying to get on top of a train, call 911 and report it. [emphasis added] You might save a young life by making that call — a life like Zackery Nazario, whose mother, Norma, joined me in Queens to update New Yorkers on our drone program. Norma described Zackery as an old soul — his favorite artists were Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. But at just 15 years old, Zackery was killed riding on top of a subway, goaded there by social media. Norma carries his funeral card with her everywhere she goes.
Norma said that social media has a role to play, and they’re not fulfilling their responsibilities. She’s right. From 2021 to 2022, there was a 366 percent increase in people riding outside the subway. Those who host and financially profit from that content must be held responsible, and I have called on Tik Tok and other social media platforms to ban these dangerous videos immediately — and to make sure that videos that promote subway surfing are removed before they go viral. In fact, we sued the owners of TikTok and four other popular social media platforms to ensure they take the impact they have on our young people far more seriously than they have been.
In addition to the increased enforcement, our administration, in partnership with Governor Hochul and the Metropolitan Transit Authority, launched the “Subway Surfing Kills – Ride Inside, Stay Alive” campaign in September 2023. It features young people talking to their peers about the dangers of subway surfing.
But we also need every New Yorker to play their part in fighting this deadly trend. If you are a parent, talk to your children now about the dangers of riding on top of trains. Even if you think your child would never do it, they know someone who just might try. If you are a young person, do not encourage others to engage in this kind of risky activity, whether in-person or online. If social media algorithms push this content your way, don’t like it — report it as the danger that it is. And if you are a teacher, talk to your students about staying safe and staying alive.
I was young in New York City, and I understand the pressures and temptations of being a teenager. But I want every young person to think about what riding on top of trains really means: the possibility of death. Don’t think about the likes and clicks; think about your family, in grief, thinking about the life you never got to live.
Stay safe, New Yorkers. And do not, under any circumstances, ride on top of trains.
Drought Management in NYC
New York City is not often associated with the kind of drought we see in other areas of the country, but this fall has been a stunning exception. This past October saw the second-longest rainless streak in city records, dating back 155 years, to 1869. With November continuing to be warmer and drier as well, we have issued a citywide drought watch and are urging New Yorkers to conserve water wherever possible.
Every New Yorker can help by taking shorter showers and doing fewer loads of laundry, but there are many other simple and effective ways to conserve water in our city.
- An open faucet uses two to three gallons of water per minute, so there’s no need to run the faucet while you’re shaving, washing your hands, or brushing your teeth.
- A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year, so fix those leaks, if possible. You can also save even more water by installing water-saving fixtures like low-flow toilets and showerheads, as well as faucet aerators.
- Run the dishwasher and washing machine only when full. Use short cycles if available. Turn off the water while washing dishes.
- Don’t flush the toilet unnecessarily. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, toilets are, by far, the main source of water use in a home, accounting for nearly 30 percent of an average home’s indoor water consumption. Each flush can use 1.6 gallons, with older models using as much as 6 gallons.
- Sweep driveways and sidewalks clean rather than washing them down with a hose.
- Report any open fire hydrants and street leaks to 311. An open hydrant can release more than 1,000 gallons per minute, which wastes 1.4 million gallons of drinking water in a 24-hour cycle.
- For even more ideas, visit DEP’s Water Savings Tips website.
New York City is justifiably proud of our water system, and we are determined to protect one of our most precious resources. All of us who rely on the city’s water supply, including 8.3 million consumers in the city and another 1.5 million upstate, must make concerted efforts to conserve water, especially during these extended dry periods.
We’re going to do our part as a city as well, requiring our city agencies to update their water conservation plans and implement them as quickly as possible.
By pulling together and saving water, we can do even better by our city — slowing the depletion rate of city reservoirs and avoiding a more serious drought that would require further restrictions in the future.
Let’s work together to save water, and when the rain does return, try to remember where you left your umbrella.
Banner Image: Subway surfing banner. Image Credit – NYC Mayor
