Tourists return to NYC’s Vessel sculpture after it reopens with netting to prevent deaths

NEW YORK (AP) — Tourists once again climbed the steps of Manhattan’s beehive-shaped Vessel sculpture after it reopened Monday for the first time in three years, now with netting aimed at decreasing the risk of suicides like the ones that forced its closure.

Around 75 visitors had bought tickets and lined up to enter the metallic honeycomb design as it opened Monday morning. Within minutes, they passed through a security checkpoint and buzzed about the stairways and vista platforms, the highest of which is around 150 feet (45 meters).

Flexible netting allowed visitors to stick out their phones, but not their bodies, to capture views of the sculpture’s interior and the surrounding cityscape.

“The pictures you can take from downstairs and upstairs, they are so beautiful,” said Alexandre Paes, a software engineer from Rio de Janeiro.

This isn’t the first time the site has closed and reopened with new safety features. The climbable sculpture’s zigzagging stairs drew crowds of tourists when it opened in 2019. It closed after three people died after jumping from the structure, and reopened with security guards and an unusual rule: nobody could visit it alone. Despite those safety measures, another person died in 2021, and it was closed again.

The Vessel reopened Monday with floor-to-ceiling mesh barriers on all the walkable sections, partially obstructing some views, and closing off much of the higher levels from visitors.

The sculpture was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and fabricated in Venice. But its backers were taken off guard by the safety issues.

“We wanted people to come here and have fun,” said Andy Rosen, COO of Related Companies, which owns Hudson Yards.

On Monday, tourists did just that, taking selfies and chasing the ever-changing light that bounces off adjacent skyscrapers and filters through the hexagonal openings.

“It’s a little bit of turning the page,” Rosen said, adding that even the narrower set of views allows visitors to interact with the sculpture and create a unique experience.

“The netting is good, not only for safety but for people like myself that are afraid of heights,” said Daniel Palumbo, of Pennsville Township, New Jersey.

The Vessel rises from the ground like a stretched basket, hollow in the center with scalable staircases on the lower levels in every direction. The reopened portions of the structure allow visitors to scale the highest level at a single section at the exit of the structure’s elevator, facing the tallest chrome and glass skyscrapers of Hudson Yards.

“This view in particular I don’t think it’s the best one that we can take pictures of. I think if you could go over there and take one of the river, it would be nice,” said Paes, adding that he had already seen a more glorious view of the Hudson River from the nearby Little Island park.

The elevator wasn’t working Monday morning, preventing some people from reaching the top and leading at least one patron to get a refunded ticket.

“I came two years ago and it was closed,” said Andrea Niño de Guzmán, of Milwaukee, who posed for photos with one of her cousins, who were visiting from Guadalajara, Mexico.

She said a third cousin, visiting from Sweden and using a wheelchair due to a temporary injury, left after the elevator outage was discovered, and operators refunded the woman’s $10 ticket, Niño de Guzmán said.

The Vessel is open every day from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free for New York City residents on Thursdays.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

Cedar Attanasio And John Minchillo, The Associated Press