Yusef Salaam
0:06:50
I'm council member Youssef Salaam, chair of the Committee of Public Safety.
0:06:54
I wanna thank council member and chair of transportation and infrastructure, Brooks Powers, council member and chair of children and youth, Stevens, and council member and chair of education, Joseph, for collaborating on this important hearing.
0:07:15
Today's hearing addressing the dangers of subway surfing reflects the council's commitment to protecting our youngest constituents and aiming to develop holistic solutions to improving public safety.
0:07:28
Although subway surfing is not a new phenomenon, the true scope of the problem is likely unknown.
0:07:34
It appears that youth have been more regularly engaging in this dangerous risk taking behavior in our subway system, Whether due to seeking attention from peers on social media or otherwise, we've seen too many lives lost or changed forever due to this reckless activity.
0:07:52
Although no single intervention can fully stop this behavior, the city still must act.
0:07:59
Today, we bring together the voices and resources of multiple government agencies to examine how to prevent the occurrence of these tragedies.
0:08:09
We will not only look to improvements in our transit infrastructure and examine policing inside the transit system, but also seek to gain insight from those who work directly with young people on how to better engage with children to discourage risk taking behavior.
0:08:28
We are here to listen, to learn, to develop, and collaborate strategies to prevent more lives from being lost.
0:08:35
As chair of of the public safety committee, I hope to specifically examine the NYPD's current strategy to ensure public safety in our transit system.
0:08:45
What impact have we seen from current targeted enforcement efforts deployed by the department?
0:08:52
How effective is public outreach in at shifting behaviors, and how does the police department directly engage with youth to encourage better decision making?
0:09:05
And finally, what challenges does the NYPD face in preventing risk taking behaviors, such as subway surfing, and what innovative solutions exist to improve department responses to these incidents?
0:09:23
At its heart, today's discussion aims to examine a holistic approach combating subway surfing, one that focuses on preventative measures, education, and community engagement necessary to tackle this issue and better protect our youth.
0:09:50
I now pass it to council member Joseph.
