Vessel death leap
Boy, 14, is tourist site’s 4th suicide
A 14-year-old boy jumped to his death from the Vessel at the Hudson Yards on Thursday in front of his horrified family— and the tourist attraction may shut for good over the latest such tragedy there.
The New Jersey teen leaped from the eighth story of the 16story structure at West 33rd Street and 10th Avenue and was pronounced dead just before 1 p.m., police and sources said.
“We are heartbroken by this tragedy, and our thoughts are with the family of the young person who lost his life,” Hudson Yards spokeswoman Kimberly Winston said. “We are conducting a full investigation. The Vessel is currently closed.”
It may stay that way forever. Stephen Ross, the billionaire developer behind the Vessel, told The Daily Beast that he was weighing closing the structure for good following the fourth suicide there in two years.
“We thought we did everything that would really prevent this,” Ross said. “It’s hard to really fathom how something like that could happen.”
The boy, whose name is being withheld by The Post, was with his parents, sister and grandmother at the time — and said nothing before the fatal leap, according to sources
His family declined to comment.
Anthony DeMayo, a construction worker who was across the street, recalled hearing “the bang” when the boy hit the ground.
“That’s not a sound I’ll ever forget,” DeMayo said. “It’s horrifying that this keeps happening. You can see looking at the barriers that they’re easy enough to climb over.”
Irina Popov, a tourist from Massachusetts, noted there were only so many precautions that could be put in place to prevent such tragedies.
“Once you’re inside, nobody makes you stay close to your buddy,” she said. “There are a couple of security guards on every level, but if you want to jump, there’s no way anyone can really stop you.”
The boy is the fourth person to commit suicide at the Vessel since it opened in 2019.
The 150-foot-tall sculpture was shuttered for four months this year following the third suicide. It reopened in May, but the owner decided not to make any structural changes that would affect the Vessel’s aesthetics.
Instead, a safety plan was put in place requiring people to visit in groups of at least two. “Screening procedures to detect high-risk behaviors” were also implemented.
Ross told The Daily Beast that security staff are located on every level of the Vessel to watch for people in distress.
But, he noted, “a family of five doesn’t fit any profile.”
Anyone suffering from suicidal thoughts is urged to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.