NJ 19-year-old takes own life in jump from NYC building

BERNARDS — A 19-year-old who leaped to his death from the Vessel at Hudson Yards along the Hudson River on Saturday was from New Jersey.

The NYPD told New Jersey 101.5 a 19-year-old man was found "unconscious and unresponsive" at the base of the new building from what appeared to be a fall from an "elevated platform." He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.

A medical examiner will determine the cause of death, the NYPD said.

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Witnesses told the New York Post a young man was alone and did not speak to anyone as he climbed up onto a railing and jumped from the sixth floor around 5:30 p.m.

Deb Noack, a spokeswoman for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, said it is "mourning the passing of freshman Peter DeSalvo who passed away over the weekend in New York City" and said the school flag was lowered to half-staff in DeSalvo's memory. DeSalvo is listed as a freshman member of the Sacred Heart X-Men Men's Rugby Club on the club website from the Basking Ridge section of Bernards.

A memorial service is scheduled for Monday at the Sacred Heart Chapel of the Holy Spirit with counseling services available to students and staff for the next few days, according to Noack.

The men's rugby club which remembered him as a "cheerful freshman" with a love of rugby on the team's Facebook page.

"Both the team and Sacred Heart University have been struck with a true catastrophe. It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of our brother and teammate Peter DeSalvo (Class of 2023)," reads a post from the team.

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Simon Perry told the New York Post he coached DeSalvo for the rugby team at Ridge High School, in the Bernards school district.

“He is seemingly the most unlikely of cases for suicide," Perry told the Post, adding that was going to ask to have DeSalvo's jersey retired.

DeSalvo also played football for Ridge, according to MaxPreps.com.

A statement from Ridge High School acting principal Karen Hudock posted by TAP into Basking Ridge confirmed DeSalvo's death but did not mention a cause.

"We know that the community will be affected by this tragic loss," read the statement.

Hudock also advised parents to be mindful of feelings about death that may surface in their children because of DeSalvo, and provided several online sources for guidance.

The Vessel is a six-story building nicknamed the Hive because it looks like a beehive with a spiral staircase for visitors to climb to the top at Hudson Yards in Manhattan's West Side. It opened to the public in March 2019.

If you feel you or someone you know may be in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-TALK, or the NJ Hopeline, 1-855-654-6735.

The Vessel, left, and The Shed at Hudson Yards in Manhattan (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ