Mayor Eric Adams charged against the disturbing new train surfing trend that left a 15-year-old boy dead on the Brooklyn Bridge the night prior.
The mayor lamented the death during a City Hall press conference on Feb. 21, in which he called the incident of a young life being snuffed out a tragedy.
“When I heard the story about this one, this particular incident and how it unfolded yesterday, it was just really traumatic,” Mayor Adams said. “You know, I’m concerned about what happened.”
According to police sources, a teen was riding atop the roof of a northbound J train as it was passing over the Brooklyn Bridge. The boy reportedly hit his head on part of the bridge, causing him to fall under the train at around 6:45 p.m. This is the latest in a spate of train-surfing-related deaths, something the mayor says increased over the course of 2020 by some 500%.
With this unsettling trend on the rise, Hizzoner says he was briefed regarding the incident and is looking to take action.
“We’re going to do a series of things to raise awareness of exactly how to just touch the consciousness of our young people. You know, you’re dumb, you’re young, you do things that are foolish—I mean, I’ve done some foolish things as a young person, you feel invincible,” Adams said. “Our team is going to do a host of things, to bring awareness to speak with other young people and really show how dangerous it is.”
The mayor also took aim at social media for helping to cultivate the deadly fad, in addition to other acts of violence and theft such as the trend that coaxes teens to steal cars for fun. Adams even called upon President Biden to take a closer look at the impact the websites and apps are having on the mental health of the country.
“I don’t think that we have properly analyzed what social media is doing to us, in general, but specifically to our young people. And I’m hoping that the President calls a National Blue-Ribbon Commission to really analyze this thing that has really dropped into our lives,” the mayor said. “You know, some of these sites are more addictive than drugs; people can’t get off them.”
