Man Jumps to His Death From W. 35th St. Building
Police told Straus News that the man has yet to be identified, and that an investigation was ongoing. A visit to the July 18 scene revealed scores of Midtown passerby that were quietly traumatized by the event, with a body laying under a white sheet.
A man reportedly jumped from a high floor of 215 W. 35th St. on July 18, cops said. The incident occurred between 10:00 and 10:33 a.m., when arriving paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Witnesses indicated that they believed the man had flung himself from the building’s 10th floor, although police had not confirmed which exact floor he fell from by press time. His identity is currently being withheld, pending family notification.
One eyewitness–who had called 911 about the incident–said that she had just picked up Billy Joel tickets and stopped to make a call to a friend when the incident occurred.
She noted that his body was near the curbside of the street, and said that she placed a stanchion nearby before police arrived, in case passing cars did not realize what had happened and hit his corpse. Until police and EMS arrived, the body was lying in the open while passersby gawked at the body.
Police laid out a perimeter of caution tape and pushed horrified witnesses and commuters back, minutes after valets from a hotel across the street put a white sheet over the man’s body. He remained there for at least 30 minutes afterwards. Most people were eerily silent and didn’t want to identify themselves. Other people went on eating their bagels, seemingly attempting to shut out what had unfolded a short distance away.
A tourist, who was in town with her family, whispered: “He looks pretty dead, doesn’t he?” Another set of parents, who were standing outside a Starbucks on W. 34th, took in the fatal scene before eventually leading their young children away. Some people took photos or videos.
Another middle-aged man, who was standing near the middle of the now-still street with an empty Dunkin glass, simply told Straus News that the incident was “terrible. There’s nothing more to say.”
The event is the second suicide to occur in Midtown in two days. On July 16, a 64 year-old man, later identified as the founder of Fandango, reportedly jumped from the 20th floor of The Kimberly Hotel on E. 50th St. Cops said that J. Michael Cline, who was also the former chairman of the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, left a note (its content has yet to be revealed). The married father of six owned homes in Palm Beach, the Hamptons, and Greenwich, CT.
If you or someone you know are struggling with suicidal thoughts or need mental health support you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. You can also dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org if you live outside NYC.