A Struggle to Prevent Suicides at Soaring NYC Sculpture
27th August 2021
When it opened 2 1/2 years ago near the Hudson River, the 150-foot-tall (46-meter-tall) piece of public art known as the Vessel looked like another surefire Manhattan tourist draw. It’s a strange honeycomb of platforms and staircases, partially ringed by skyscrapers, offered striking views of the waterfront and quickly became an Instagram favorite.
But these days it stands closed and empty, its entrances blocked off with chains or metal barricades, after a 14-year-old boy last month became the fourth person to fatally leap from the sculpture.
The death on July 29, a mere two months after the sculpture had reopened following previous suicides, has reinvigorated a call for real estate developer Related Companies to raise the height of the waist-high railings on the sides of the stairs and platforms.
Think of it as evolution in action.