The Vessel, the huge climbable centerpiece of New Yorkâs upmarket Hudson Yards development that saw a number of suicides, is set to reopen later this year with new safety features, according to developers.
The 150ft sculpture, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and built at a cost of $260m, was closed three years ago after four people jumped to their deaths. Besides overall criticism of its design â including descriptions of it as a giant gold shish-kebab rotisserie â the construction was grimly described to the Guardian as âstaircase to nowhereâ.
Before its closure, Related Companies, the company that controls Hudson Yards, imposed a $10 entrance fee and a rule requiring that visitors do not climb the structure alone. But that plan proved unsuccessful when a 14-year-old boy jumped in front his family.
The first suicide from the Vessel occurred in February 2020. The sculpture was closed the following year after two people killed themselves in the space of a month. After it reopened, and a fourth suicide took place, the Vesselâs operator was criticized for not raising its chest-high barriers as community leaders and suicide-prevention researchers had requested.
Despite the Vesselâs popularity on Instagram, the website Curbed said it had become âfamous largely as a place of deathâ.
But now the developers have said it will reopen this later year with new safety measures, including a âfloor-to-ceiling steel meshâ â something a Related spokesperson told the New York Times would preserve the âunique experience that has drawn millions of visitors from around the globeâ.
Peter DeSalvo Jr, the father of the first young man to jump from the Vessel, told the outlet that âall the deaths, including that of our son, could have been prevented if they had adequate safeguardsâ.