Fatal subway surfing incidents across New York City have persisted due to easily obtainable subway keys, MTA radios and an underground social media group, NYPD officials said on Wednesday, May 27.
The statistics are startling. Since 2023, 76 people were caught carrying transit keys while subway surfing. Those keys can be used to open a train’s back door, NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Joseph Gulotta said. Gulotta and outreach worker Norma Nazario said the trend reflects the wider pattern driving a string of deaths on the city’s elevated train lines.
People have used the stolen skeleton keys to open locked cab doors and sidewalk hatches that lead into the tunnel system, Nazario said. Incidents include walking the tracks, clinging to the rear exteriors of trains and attempting to move parked trains. “We know for a fact that they are stealing them from the conductor’s booths,” Gulatta said. “They’ll look for a conductor’s bag lying around. They’ll break into the cabin.”