A group of seventh-grade students in East New York are creating a way to crack down on subway crime while bringing awareness to mental health. 

Liberty Avenue Middle School seventh graders started the classroom project as a way to come up with a plan to reduce subway crimes in the city and bring awareness for mental health.  

Their plan, called the Subway Save, is a smart device that would be placed on columns in subway stations to give riders a direct contact to authorities by pushing a button.  

“There’s a lot of crime in the subway currently so I’m glad to create a model that might be able to fix it,” said Qi Xu, seventh grader at Liberty Avenue Middle School.  

Based on the rider's needs, each button on the device has a different safety purpose – red for 911 emergencies, green for mental health crises, and both buttons can be pressed if needed. 

This invention caught the attention of MTA officials, who surprised the students at their school yesterday. 

The project has been entered in a nationwide contest, where they are one of 10 state finalists. If they win in April, they could walk away with $100,000 and be difference-makers in subway safety.