The Vessel, a Manhattan tourist site closed after suicides, reopens with new safety features
NEW YORK CITY -- The Vessel, a towering, honeycomb-like sculpture in Manhattan that was popular with tourists before a series of suicides forced its closure in 2021, reopens Monday with new safety features.
The 150-foot (46-meter) structure opened in 2019 as the centerpiece of the Hudson Yards development on Manhattan's West Side. The climbable sculpture with zigzagging stairs drew crowds of tourists, but was closed to the public in 2021 after several people took their own lives by jumping off the structure.
Related Companies, which owns Hudson Yards, confirmed that the Vessel will reopen with floor-to-ceiling steel mesh barriers installed on parts of it. Only the upper level sections that have been fitted with mesh will reopen and the top level will remain closed. Tickets are required.
"Not a day goes by that we don't have visitors walking up to our staff asking where they can buy tickets and when it will reopen," Related CEO Jeff T. Blau said in a prepared statement, "that interest hasn't diminished during the time we've been closed and we're excited to welcome guests from all around the world back to Vessel with additional safety measures in place."
Related had announced in April that the attraction would reopen at an unspecified time this year with the steel mesh barriers.
The Vessel was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and fabricated in Venice.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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