Design, not persuasion, can stop subway surfing<\/p>\n
Corona: \u201cRide inside, stay alive.\u201d We hear this message every time we ride the train. It\u2019s supposed to stop kids from subway surfing or riding outside the train (photo). But we\u2019re kids, and we can tell you that these announcements do the opposite. They make kids more curious about subway surfing, not less. Older kids laugh at the message and use it as the soundtrack of their surfing videos.<\/p>\n
We are 9 and 10 years old. The average subway surfer is only four or five years older than us. In the last three years, 16 people died subway surfing in NYC. This didn\u2019t have to happen. In our research, we learned it\u2019s popular because of videos on social media. We learned about Norma Nazario, who lost her son to subway surfing and is suing TikTok and Instagram<\/a>. We also learned that it\u2019s rare for this kind of lawsuit to work. Even if it did, it would be impossible for TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram to catch and delete every video.<\/p>\n If PSAs and lawsuits don\u2019t work, what do we do? We believe the MTA needs to redesign the trains. We spent weeks making new train designs and invited an engineer to look at them. Our ideas include open gangway cars, removable ladders, movement sensors with alarms and additional cameras. The MTA is testing barriers on the No. 7 trains and we look forward to seeing if this helps, but we\u2019re calling for the city to do more and do it faster. Kids are the ones most hurt by subway surfing, so you should listen to us! Update our trains or we\u2019ll lose more kids. Class 404, P.S. 211\/Elm Tree Elementary School<\/p>\n Skeleton crew?<\/p>\n Mamaroneck, N.Y.: Re \u201cVeto this subway featherbedding<\/a>\u201d (editorial, Nov. 17): What? No conductors on trains? No doubt Gov. Hochul wants the MTA to have one person or nobody operating a train. I know this is common in most cities around the world, but I don\u2019t know whether this idea will be a success or failure. And conductors will think, \u201cAm I going to be extinct or will I still have a job?\u201d Thomas J. Cunningham<\/p>\n Insensitive subhed<\/p>\n Flushing: Re \u201cNo new slays in city for a week<\/a>\u201d (Dec. 4): I find your subheading, \u201cNovember ties 2018 record with just 16 homicides, and none in Qns. or S.I.,\u201d to be very distasteful and thoughtless, to say the least. How do you think the families of the 16 homicide victims must feel after reading how your paper belittled their deceased loved ones, calling all 16 innocent victims \u201cjust 16\u201d? Even one homicide victim in November would have been one too many! You could very well have written: \u201cNovember ties 2018 record with 16 homicides.\u201d You would have delivered the same message while inflicting less hurt. You just poured salt on an open wound. You should put more thought into your headlines. Martin Goldman<\/p>\n Truly progressive<\/p>\n Bronx: Re \u201cThe DSA undercuts Black New Yorkers<\/a>\u201d (op-ed, Dec. 4): Darius Jones has sketched out a road map that will enhance public safety and create jobs and housing for all New Yorkers. Gene Roman<\/p>\n See the statutes<\/p>\n Manhattan: Sorry, Voicer Gabrielle R. Shatan, who called the ICE agents trapped in a parking garage \u201ccowardly.\u201d Impeding federal officers from carrying out their duties is a federal crime, which can have serious consequences, including imprisonment. 18 U.S. Code \u00a7111 criminalizes the forcible assault, resistance, opposition, impedance, intimidation or interference with federal employees. The actions of the protesters were also crimes under New York State law. New York Penal Law \u00a7135.00 prohibits intentionally restricting someone\u2019s movement without consent. New York Penal Law \u00a7135.10 (unlawful imprisonment) prohibits detaining someone without legal authority, like trapping them in a room or vehicle. The real cowards were the protesters who ran away to New Jersey to avoid any consequences of their illegal actions. Nancy L. Brenner<\/p>\n Pointless prize<\/p>\n