NYC: Destination Spot For Suicide

We guess that we don't have a Golden Gate Bridge to complain about, but a lot of our out-of-towners are in the Big Apple to off themselves. The Daily News reports that a new study shows "more than one in 10 people who kill themselves in Manhattan are 'suicide tourists'" and they choose NYC landmarks to do so!

Men are mostly to blame for seeking out better-known landmarks like bridges or historic landmarks to leap from. 80% of "suicide tourists" are male. The vast majority of suicides in the U.S. are accomplished by hanging, drug overdoses, or by firearms, but a good number of NYC suicides are committed by out-of-town residents looking to lend a little geographical meaning to the end of their lives. And also, the study says, "Research has shown that jumping from a height is more common in New York than in the rest of the United States."

"Jumpers" as they are known in the realm of law enforcement are dealt with the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit. The ESU generally reports a 99% success rate in talking people down from bridges and other high perches. Earlier this year, however, a man leaped with little warning from his office in the Empire State Building.

The city has a suicide prevention hotline; here's some more information on the Health Department's efforts to help the mentally ill.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Dave Hogarty in News on November 1, 2007 5:25 PM

Comments [rss]

Snoopy

Actually an inverted spiral. Sorry.

Snoopy

^ If one would jump off the top or any floor in the Guggenheim they would only go down one floor. It's an inverted bowl.

splashcastle

I've always wondered if anyone has ever jumped off the top floor inside the Guggenheim. I googled it and found no results.

Snoopy

LinkMan,

After an intensive study by Professor William L. Bucktos of the University of Southern Arkansas, it was found that there are fewer people who have died from leaping from the roofs of a single rather than double wide mobile home in the northeastern part of that state.

LinkMan

"Research has shown that jumping from a height is more common in New York than in the rest of the United States."

Um, yeah. It's kind of hard to kill yourself jumping off a two-story house.

rikomatic

I would like it noted that Brooklyn has many tall buildings that people can choose to off themselves from. And you have the added benefit of a lovely view of Manhattan as you go down.

Someone needs to add that to our tourist brochures.

cmoney

Speaking of editorial mistakes, if anyone needed an editor, it was my high school's Suicide ASSISTANCE Hotline!!

True story. That's what they called it.

smitty

There is evidence that articles written about suicide increase the amount of suicides. We learned that in journalism school.

Kojak

Take your head out of your asses, the both of you, and focus on the topic at hand and not their bad spelling. They CANT SPELL. WE KNOW.

Why the hell would I want to jump off a building just to go splat and have everyone see my guts? I'd rather jump off the golden gate bridge and never have my body recovered.

rubyredhead

what is a put-of-towners? you lovely people at gothamist need to read things over before you post them, there are too many errors for one kid to take