Hoping to reduce the loss of some $1 billion in fares, new gates installed in some New York City subway stations have instead become the subject of mockery online with videos showing riders easily defeating the barriers.
The new barriers even inspired a “Fair Evasion Olympics” on an Instagram account called the “Danny Fisher Show,” drawing thousands of views:
The late-night competition featured costumed participants taking running jumps over the fare gates at Manhattan’s Broadway-Lafayette Street station. The winner was awarded a check for $3, the cost of a subway ride.
“It’s still incredibly beatable. It’s not really effective, it’s just expensive,” organizer Danny Fisher, a self-confessed fare evader, told the New York Post.
In late 2025, the Metropolitan Transit Authority launched the new gates designed to “improve fare compliance, system accessibility, and passenger flow.”
Three designs from three different venders with modern “paddle door” gates were installed at 20 stations to replace the turnstile system.
The MTA is trying out the new gates as part of a $1.1 billion investment it is making over the next five years to modernize fare gates at 150 subway stations, which accounts for about one third of the city’s system.
A Brooklyn influencer known by his social media handle “Kiing Spiider” has posted dozens of videos Instagram of himself and his friends demonstrating the various ways to defeat the new paddle gates.
In one clip posted Tuesday, the influencer is seen slipping through the gate blindfolded while using a cane as part of the stunt.
The influencer told Fox5 that he does it to show the city is wasting millions that could be better spent.
“We need to focus more on like safety and the service of the subway system,” the Brooklyn native told FOX 5 New York, adding, “A lot of people are getting hurt.”
As Breitbart News has reported, crime and the lack of safety on New York City trains and platforms have been an ongoing source of controversy.
The influencer said he and his friends all have jobs and are always respectful to MTA authorities when they shoot the videos.
The MTA apparently doesn’t hold Kiing Spiider and his citizen gate testers in high regard.
“This is a free pilot program with technology from leading companies in the world, and so far most riders seem to like it,” an MTA spokesman told the local Fox outlet. “The opinions of minor-league trolls who steal rides from New Yorkers for internet attention are less of a concern.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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