ByTom Tracy
As the old saying goes, “Love will give you wings.” But, it appears that love drove one Coney Island resident to climb to the top of a 15-story high rise, where he prepared to jump off and end his life, police alleged. That’s where cops from the 60th Precinct found the 41-year-old the morning of February 3 before the distraught resident was pulled back onto the rooftop, out of harm’s way. Once safe, the man told authorities that he was going to jump because his ex-wife had divorced him and moved on. Officials said that they received over a dozen calls at 8:30 a.m. from stunned residents who looked up and saw the man poised on the ledge of 2940 West 31st Street, between Surf and Mermaid avenues, ready to jump. Members of the NYPD Emergency Services Unit (ESU) responded and raced to the top of the building, where the jumper was found standing on the other side of a short fence lining the edge of the roof. In the two hours that followed, cops put out a large air mattress to catch the man if he fell and tried to convince him to climb to the other side. In the end, the officers had to resort to trickery, said witnesses. Officers trying to talk the man down offered him a cigarette. When he accepted the smoke and reached over to take the cigarette, the cops grabbed him and hauled him over back onto the roof. Witnesses said that the would-be jumper could be heard screaming “I love her but she cheated on me,” as he was brought out of the building and taken to Coney Island Hospital for observation. Police said that one of their first calls to the scene came from the jumper’s ex-wife, who said that the 41-year-old had broken an order of protection by showing up at her apartment. Residents told reporters that he and his ex-wife were high school sweethearts. The couple was married for nearly 20 years and had three kids together until their divorce. Witnesses claimed that unhinged resident was seen at the address the week before, claiming that he would jump from the building.
