Get us in your inbox

Search
The Vessel at Hudson Yards
Photograph: Shutterstock

The Vessel in Hudson Yards is re-opening this Friday

You will no longer be able to enter the staircase alone.

Anna Rahmanan
Written by
Anna Rahmanan
Advertising

After closing back in mid-January following a series of extremely heartbreaking suicides, the Vessel at Hudson Yards will be re-opening this Friday.

Needless to say, new safety measures will be in place. According to the New York Times, the changes will include added security efforts that will be paid for in part by the proceeds of $10 tickets, which were previously free. The on-site staff will also undergo training to recognize troubling behavior while a series of suicide prevention messages will be plastered across the area and on entry stubs. The messages on the tickets have been developed alongside nonprofit Born This Way Foundation, created by Lady Gaga back in 2011 in an effort to offer mental health resources to those who need it. 

One more thing: visitors will no longer be allowed to climb the 150-foot sculpture alone. Everyone will have to enter the premises in pairs or as a group. 

Although the updated guidelines are a step in the right direction, community members are upset about the developer's decision not to raise the height of the barriers along the Vessel's walkways—a change that the local community board had been pushing for months.

Designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio, the Vessel first opened back in 2019, functioning as the epicenter of the much talked about Hudson Yards project in downtown Manhattan. Although the 154 interconnected flights of stairs and 80 landings have drawn a massive amount of locals and tourists throughout its years in operation, the site has also, unfortunately, been the location of a series of suicides by folks that have jumped off the structure (two this past January and one less than a year before that). 

The re-opening of what is now considered an iconic New York City structure is obviously a bittersweet one. Although we urge New Yorkers to get vaccinated and explore the city once more, we're here to tell you all that you're not alone and that your safety should always come first. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

Popular on Time Out

    You may also like
    You may also like
    Advertising