After three young New Yorkers died while subway surfing in six weeks, the city is expanding its plan to end the dangerous spectacle with more help from aerial drones and more student-focused public service announcements.

Standing a few feet away from line 7, one of the city’s most popular subway surf lines, Mayor Eric Adams held up a photo of someone atop a subway car.

“This is real. “This isn’t fun, it’s deadly,” Mayor Adams said outside PS 11 in Woodside on Thursday.

There have been six subway surfing deaths so far in 2024, compared to five in all of 2023. The mayor believes the use of drone technology and greater inclusion of young people in public service announcements will have a citywide impact.

“This is a combination of the patrol force on the ground. Our team at One Police Plaza monitors these lines based on 311 and 911 data. And it’s a combination of ordinary New Yorkers who saw this incident and reported it to us, and it’s the young people who are part of the PSAs that we put together,” Adams said.

Mayor Adams and NYPD officials announced that during the subway surfing drone pilot program, officers were able to quickly detect, identify and engage with more than 100 individuals between the ages of 9 and 33. The police department’s plan involves using several drone crews on popular after-school lines in the five boroughs from 2 to 5:30 p.m.

NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry says after every subway surfing incident and arrest, officers speak to the boy’s parents.

“We share drone footage with every parent. Open conversations at home are critical. It all starts within the family, and by encouraging these discussions we can work together to meet this challenge,” Daughtry said.

The incident took place on 111th Street in Queens.

The NYPD also partnered with the Department of Education to deliver anti-surfing presentations on the subway to nearly 1,300 students so far. The NYC Schools Chancellor says the app will expand to more schools across the city.

Last year, the municipality and MTA launched the “Get In, Stay Alive” campaign designed by high school students. NYC Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said students are creating posters and recording PSAs to make their voices heard in the fight against peer pressure and the potentially dangerous effects of social media.

“Our students are our best messengers; That’s why we focus not only on student engagement (but also on) student empowerment. We know we will continue to raise student voices to bring attention to this issue, and of course we also need to directly educate our children about the dangers of subway surfing,” Aviles-Ramos said.

The NYPD and Mayor Adams have made it clear that social media is another big part of the problem, as young people continue to be motivated by viral videos and fueled by the likes and views they generate. The mayor said he is in talks with social media companies about the impact of dangerous videos.

“So we are going after social media companies and social media platforms. “They have an obligation not to put profits ahead of public safety,” he said. “We do not glorify violence, hatred or any other criminal activity on these websites, and we must stop glorifying subway surfing. “Every injury, every death is 100% preventable,” said NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon.

Jessica Cunnington reports that a 13-year-old boy died while subway surfing in Queens.

Adolfo Sanabria returned from subway surfing in Queens, just steps from his home in October, 13 days before police said he died. Dozens of friends created a monument in his honor under the M train tracks near the Forest Avenue station. Her devastated mother, Milene Sorzano, warned parents in the city to look at their children’s phones and know what they were doing and who they were doing it with.

On Sunday night, days after Adolfo’s death, 13-year-old Krystel Romero and her 12-year-old friend fell while subway surfing on the No. 7 train, police said. Romero is dead and his friend is in critical condition.

Norma Nazario’s son Zach died last year after being caught up in this tragic turn of events. He was only 15 years old. Nazario stood with city officials holding her son’s funeral card on Thursday and said she was grateful to Mayor Adams and the NYPD for the drone initiative.

“Social media also has a role to play here and they don’t. No child should lose their life, no family should have to live without the child they love. Our message is clear from within and stay alive,” said Nazario.