New York teenager whose friend died while subway surfing hopes his art illustrates the trend's dangers
NEW YORK -- A Manhattan teenager is channeling his pain into art after his friend died while subway surfing.
The piece is now on display in the Oculus, and as the artist told CBS New York's Ali Bauman, he hopes the message resonates with his peers.
Seventeen-year-old Kosse Laureano was subway surfing on top of the 7 train, when he fell onto the tracks near Hudson Yards last summer.
"I mean, I knew he did it, but I just didn't really think about how dangerous it was and how hurt he could've got doing it. I just didn't really process it in that way," 16-year-old Alexander Antelman said.
After his friend passed, Alexander gathered all the underground photos and videos Kosse had taken and put them with the frantic text messages his mother sent in the hours before his body was found.
"I think people do these things without really thinking what their actions can lead to," Alexander said. "Like, imagine your mom's watching you train surf, how she would feel."
The video is now displayed at NYC Culture Club in the Oculus, steps from the subway.
"It's a teen telling other teens this isn't something you wanna do," curator Laura Hart said.
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The NYPD only started tracking subway surfing this year. In that time, four kids between 14-16 years old have died that way in the city.
"The NYPD is fully engaged in efforts to end this dangerous trend, to protect participants who are not thinking of the tragic consequences and devastation associated with it," NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper said.
Friday, the NYPD released a new PSA and urged parents to talk to their kids about the trend.
"I think messages from outside entities, whether it's a public service announcement or a public official ... When you're a teenager, it doesn't really have an impact. It doesn't have resonance. But if your friend, your buddy, is telling you something, you're gonna listen," Hart said.
The photos Kosse left are beautiful, but how he got them leave a grisly scar.
"I think they just play around with their lives and think they're having fun but they don't realize they could actually die doing these things and they don't process, like, what death really is and how it affects the people around them," Alexander said.
