Escape From The High Line: Teen Suing City For $2.5 Million

Can you imagine how awful it'd be to get stuck up there? Jake Dobkin / Gothamist

A New Jersey teenager who seriously injured his leg after jumping down to the street from a fence around High Line is suing the city for $2.5 million, claiming that he was locked in the park and had no choice. "I crushed my knee, rupturing my ACL, and hurt my back. It really messed me up," 18-year-old Kirk Rasnick told the Daily News. Rasnick claims that the injuries he sustained on June 13 have prevented him from playing football during his senior year at Dickinson High School in Jersey City, and "you can't put a price on that." Except in this case: the price is $2.5 million, which works out to be around $700K per missed pep rally.

Rasnick says he and two friends were lounging around the High Line near 26th Street, "neither drunk nor high," which probably breaks some law about not being high on the High Line. "We saw a patrol go by once around 9 p.m., but that was the last time we saw them. At about 11 o'clock we tried to leave, but the gate was closed." So the boys followed the old adage, "When life gives you a closed gate, you jump right the hell over that sucker."

None of the three high-school age guys had a cell phone, and none of them noticed the "bright yellow" emergency call boxes. "I didn't see any signs. Emergency call boxes? I didn't see any emergency call boxes." Who has time to "look around" when they're trapped in the post-apocalyptic hellscape of the High Line? $4 cucumber- lime popsicles, THE HORROR.

The lawsuit, which claims that the city "negligently, carelessly, recklessly and unreasonably locked the doors to the park," hasn't been filed yet, but Rasnick's attorney says they're in the "preliminary stages," and have talked about settling with city attorneys. "Why didn't they check before they locked the gate? It's not like we were hiding," Rasnick said, "This all could have been prevented." Yeah! They need some cameras up there or something!

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

By Christopher Robbins in News on September 25, 2011 3:35 PM

Comments [rss]

FreeDumb1

i call bull$#!t they had a phone,

little money grubbing parasites.

StarryGordon

Why is the High Line locked up? Why not just leave it open?

Detex

It is a park, almost all the parks I know of in the city are locked at night. This one just happens to be locked up high...

Guest

The comment above is exactly right. What we have here is bullshit. And the parents of a fucking idiot who thought for a moment "hey, like the worthless pieces of shit we are, why not sue!? That's what fucking losers do!"

And you're right. They will settle and this fucking moron will get hundreds of thousands of everyone's tax dollars that could have been spent so much wiser.

As an attorney I can tell you it always astounded me how fucking stupid or full of shit you can be and still get tons of money.

APJH

Three teenagers, no cell phones? Yeah, right.

TheOtherBob

A somewhat similar thing happened to me, once. There used to be (and may still be, though I don't play there anymore) a regular, scheduled, permitted (in the sense that we have a permit) soccer game at a field downtown, lasting until (I think) 10pm. So one night we get done at 10pm, walk over to the gate and...it's chained.

Some city employee actually walked up to the only gate out of a park, saw a shitload of people inside playing soccer, and chained it anyways -- even though the park wasn't even closed yet. Putting aside the fact that the guy apparently didn't even know what time the park closed...hello, there's 40 people in there. Maybe they'll need to get out at some point?

I guess we could have called 311 -- but no way would they have gotten the guy out there in any reasonable amount of time. (It would probably have been a couple of hours, frankly.) So we just hopped a fence. I'm not sure how I'd feel if someone had gotten hurt as a result of all that -- but no one did. (Because we all know how to, you know, climb a fence...)

bt10011

To the idiots who think this will "probably just settle," you have no idea. As a former City litigator, I know that cases like this will either go to trial or, more likely, result in a dismissal. Without the business considerations that drive most private sector settlements, as well as a City Settlements Administrator whose purse strings are tighter than a nun's ________, the only way this case would settle would be if the City REALLY did something wrong. Judging by this article, that's just not the case.

StarryGordon

Their lawyer will get paid, though.

Emmily_Litella

They could have shouted out to a passerby with a phone or used their eyes and found a call box. When I meet younger people at a pre arranged place, and they arrive there, they don’t look around to find me, they just reach for the phone if they haven’t bumped in to me first. Sometimes they won’t hang up until actually making contact. DUMBASSES!

marcosduran

So many people donate to keep this park running and here comes this idiot to take a lot of hard raised cash. Sure insurance will probably pay it but you know we all end up paying it in the end.

Kevin_Kramers

a quick search on Facebook shows

Kirk Rasnick Bout to chill wit da wife
Share · June 13 at 5:30pm via mobile ·O RLY?! no cell phone?and what's a HS kid doing out and about in NYC on a school night?

CurmudgeonNYC

That is pretty much the image of this MENSA member I had in my head. Thanks.

Detex

yup. looks about right!

sauceboy

A. I'm pretty sure they all own cellphones. They're American teens. Period.

B. What his attorney is undoubtedly telling him right now is that his and his friends' cell records will be subpoenaed and when it becomes clear that they were making calls and texting during the time when the were allegedly trapped, maybe with some stupid pics as well, this will all be over and they will be in a lot of trouble.

shocktheday

His attorneys undoubtedly knows he can fill a jury with morons and still win the case with obvious holes in his defense. Many New Yorkers are out to make the same quick buck. In let's say Upstate New York, they know their tax dollars would be going to paying for idiots like this and would be less inclined to vote to award their stupidity.

colonelcasey

Would it have killed him to call 911 to say he was stuck in the park?

Eric Gordon

Great job there Captain Oblivious.

souper_crackers

That kid should sue life for making him so goddamn dumb.

nicemarmot

I especially dislike lawsuits that are partially based on obvious lies, like that three teenagers didn't have a cell phone between them. What do you want to bet they purposely stayed in there past closing?

Detex

Or that you cant yell to the various people out there to help you. Bang on the window or the standard or whatever.

But I still bet they get some money out of it.