Man Jumps To Death From George Washington Bridge, Police Say

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A man jumped to his death Wednesday morning from the lower level of the George Washington Bridge, a spokesman for the Port Authority Police Department told Patch.

The man jumped from the bridge, which connects Washington Heights and New Jersey, into the Hudson River around 7:10 a.m., a Port Authority spokesman said. The man's body was recovered from the river shortly after 7:30 a.m. and was transported to the 125th Street pier in Harlem, the spokesman said.

New York City EMS declared the man dead at 7:48 a.m. on the pier, a Port Authority spokesman told Patch. The man is reportedly in his 30s and is a New York City resident, the spokesman said. The death has been confirmed to be a suicide, a the spokesman said.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has begun measures to limit the number of suicides that occur on the George Washington Bridge. In September, the agency announced that it would install an 11-foot-tall temporary fence on the south sidewalk of the George Washington Bridge, Port Authority officials said in a statement. The safety upgrades are part of the Port Authority's $1.9 billion "Restore the George" plan, officials said. The temporary fence is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The bridge's north sidewalk — which is usually closed to the public — will be opened to pedestrians and cyclists during the fence construction. After the temporary fence is complete, the Port Authority will install a permanent safety fence on the north side and then finish the project off with a permanent fence for the south sidewalk.

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