Brooklyn 7th grade students develop innovative device for increasing safety in subways
EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A project by a group of Brooklyn seventh graders is gaining attention for its innovative approach to safety on the subways.
The students at Liberty Avenue Middle School in East New York call their device the Subway Save.
It's a prototype of a smart device that would be placed on columns in subway stations and allow riders to discreetly contact authorities by simply pushing a button.
"Some of us, we don't really notice the help points so we thought this could bring more attention and crime to go down," Sinthia Orni said.
Different buttons on the device correspond with different safety issues -- and the corresponding levels of response needed.
There's also an app where anyone reporting an issue can describe what's happening and where.
The project caught the attention of officials at the MTA who visited to school on Thursday for a demonstration.
"I don't think their technology is daunting at all, I think what they are presenting is actually quite implementable, it's about making sure we have the right resources behind the button," New York City Transit President Richard Davey said. "What they are doing is impressive, what they are doing is inspirational."
"I really wanted to show them the path they may walk in the future, it's all about exposure to opportunities and they just took it and ran with it," teacher Jessica Abrams said.
The students entered their project in a nationwide contest involving 300 schools and they were one of 10 in New York picked to move on to the next round.
In April they could walk away with the top prize, $100,000.
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