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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAfter latest suicide, the Vessel in New York City's Hudson Yards ponders its future
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/07/us/vessel-hudson-yards-suicide-wellness/index.htmlAfter latest suicide, the Vessel in New York City's Hudson Yards ponders its future
(CNN)In a December 2016 article for The Architect's Newspaper, journalist Audrey Wachs noted a glaring issue with the Vessel, the 150-foot-tall tourist attraction that was set to open in New York City's gleaming new Hudson Yards neighborhood.
"As one climbs up Vessel, the railings stay just above waist height all the way up to the structure's top," she wrote, "but when you build high, folks will jump."
That warning has proved tragically prescient. Last week, a 14-year-old died by suicide at the climbable structure -- the fourth such fatal incident since the landmark opened to the public in March 2019.
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It's the second time the Vessel has closed due to suicides. In January, after the third death, the Vessel closed for several months and reopened in May with new safety measures in place, including increased security, a buddy system and signs about mental health resources.
Now, the Vessel's future as the Instagrammable centerpiece of the largest development in Manhattan since Rockefeller Center is in limbo. Can it be saved?
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The Vessel has a deeper issue
Safe public messaging was a key part of the Vessel's plan when it reopened in May with new safety measures. Rather than making physical changes, the Vessel charged a $10 fee for entry, required people to come with another person, hired staff and security to watch for distress and set up signs informing visitors how to get help.
Last week's tragedy showed the flaw in that plan without a physical barrier. The 14-year-old victim had been with his family when he died, authorities told CNN affiliate WCBS.
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After latest suicide, the Vessel in New York City's Hudson Yards ponders its future (Original Post)
Demovictory9
Aug 2021
OP
i watched that season..thx for reminder. I had a very tall thin friend..he was nervous around low
Demovictory9
Aug 2021
#5
Klaralven
(7,510 posts)1. Plant trees under it. No one will jump into trees.
littlemissmartypants
(22,418 posts)7. Or cacti. nt
brooklynite
(93,851 posts)2. An architect I was talking to described the construction as a "folly"
(noun): "a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park."
Demovictory9
(32,323 posts)3. it definitely has no purpose other than as exercise stairs
TexasTowelie
(111,292 posts)4. They used the site in the last season of Project Runway.
One of the judges, Brandon Maxwell, is afraid of heights and refused to go up the contraption.
It was a design flaw to allow such low railings that it became a place where suicides would be attempted.
Demovictory9
(32,323 posts)5. i watched that season..thx for reminder. I had a very tall thin friend..he was nervous around low
railings. railings that were waist high for short people, were thigh high for him.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,746 posts)6. Yes.
I happen to be on the short side, so railings tend to be above my waist. But I've been places where railings are low, even for me, and I understand his nervousness.
Iggo
(47,487 posts)8. Too bad. That place looks awesome.