NJ teen jumps off The Vessel, structure’s 4th suicide in 18 months

NEW YORK — A New Jersey 14-year-old jumped off The Vessel at Hudson Yards on Manahttan's West Side on Thursday, the fourth suicide at the 16-story structure in 18 months.

Responding officers were told the teen from Livingston leaped off the beehive-like building around 12:50 p.m. He was lying on the sidewalk with injuries indicating a fall from a height and EMS pronounced him dead.

The boy's identity was not disclosed by the NYPD.

The New York Post reported that the boy said nothing as he jumped from the building in front of his parents, sister and grandmother.

According to NBC 4 New York, the boy's death was the fourth suicide from the structure in the past 18 months. It was reopened in May with tightened access rules and an entrance fee after a 19-year-old New Jersey man committed suicide in January.  All the victims have been between 14 and 24 years old, according to NBC 4 New York.

The Vessel was closed to the public on Friday.

Developer Stephen Ross told the Daily Beast that the Vessel may close for good and said he thought everything possible was done after the last suicide to prevent another.

The Vessel, which is made up of 154 interconnecting flights of stairs, 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings, was first opened to the public in 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

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