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Subway surfers are stealing MTA conductors' keys and buying them on Amazon, NYPD says
By
Charles Lane
Published May 27, 2026
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Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
By
Charles Lane
Published May 27, 2026
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Fatal subway surfing incidents across the five boroughs have persisted due to easily obtainable subway keys, MTA radios and an underground, engagement-focused social media community, NYPD officials said on Wednesday.
Since 2023, 76 people were caught carrying transit keys while subway surfing, which 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.
Teens have used the stolen skeleton keys to open locked cab doors and sidewalk hatches that lead into the tunnel system, Nazario said. They’ve been spotted walking the tracks, clinging to the rear exteriors of trains and even attempting to move parked trains.
"We know for a fact that they're stealing them from conductor's booths," Gulotta said, adding that some keys can be purchased on Amazon. "They'll look for an MTA bag lying around. They'll break into the cabin.”
The warning came days after a 14-year-old boy was killed and an 18-year-old critically injured when they fell from a J train while subway surfing across the Williamsburg Bridge on Friday evening, police said.
Then on Tuesday, three teens, two 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old, were detained at the Bay Parkway station in Brooklyn after a 911 call reported them riding outside an F train, police said. They were charged as juveniles with criminal trespass.
About four hours later, the NYPD Transit Drone team spotted a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old riding atop a Manhattan-bound J train as it crossed the Williamsburg Bridge. The 14-year-old was carrying MTA train keys, police said, and was charged with possession of stolen property, possession of burglar's tools and reckless endangerment. The 13-year-old was charged with criminal trespass and reckless endangerment.
From Jan. 1 through Feb. 9 2025, police reported 17 arrests, two injuries and no deaths tied to subway surfing. The NYPD said there were 229 arrests, 15 injuries and six deaths in all of 2024, compared with 135 arrests, 10 injuries and five deaths in 2023.
The department also said officers and transit personnel made 83 "saves" so far in 2026, meaning incidents where people were stopped from subway surfing, compared with 81 during the same period in 2025 and 162 in all of 2025.
Nazario, whose 15-year-old son Zackery died while subway surfing on the Williamsburg Bridge in February 2023, was hired this year as an NYPD outreach worker. She said she recovered her son’s phone after he died and learned the activity went well beyond climbing onto train roofs.
Photos on her son's phone also showed kids in MTA-issued vests carrying agency radios — the same signs Gulotta now urges parents to watch for at home.
"Social media is continuing to do this," Nazario said. "I don't think they're going to stop, because they make the money."
The NYPD has begun expanding its enforcement and outreach. A dedicated team flies drones twice a day on elevated lines, including the 7, J and 6, timed to before- and after-school hours. The department's vandal squad also investigates every subway surfing and track trespassing alongside detectives.
Officers have also been tasked with coordinating with the MTA to caution and hold trains when surfers are spotted. Arrested teens are routed through family court.
But the drones' effectiveness has been met with skepticism. At a 90th Precinct Community Council meeting last year, Commanding Officer Vincent Seminerio said the drones often arrive too late.
A spokesperson for the MTA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Giulia Heyward contributed reporting.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
transportation
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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