ALBANY – State Senator Pete Harckham (D, Peekskill) has announced that his bill to install climb deterrent fencing on New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA) bridges to help prevent suicides has passed the Senate and Assembly.
The NYSBA operates and maintains five Hudson River crossings for vehicular traffic: Rip Van Winkle Bridge, Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, Mid-Hudson Bridge, Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, and Bear Mountain Bridge.
“Sadly, these bridges have become magnets for people who would harm themselves,” Harckham said. “There are over 100 empty seats and family tables and these are all preventable deaths. Every time someone goes over the side of a bridge, it is preventable. The statistics are that 80 to 90 percent of people reconsider their suicide if they are stopped for the first time. This legislation is vital and I thank my colleagues for their support.”
Harckham said that since records were kept in 2007 there have been 100 suicides on NYSBA bridges and 50 attempts/injuries. In the past five years, there have been 35 fatalities and 23 attempted suicides.
Harckham’s bill was based on statistical research showing that bridge barriers are an effective deterrent against suicide attempts. Deterrent fencing inhibits both suicide attempts and accidental falling deaths from the bridges. Other public agencies have successfully reduced suicide attempts by deploying barriers.
The Duke Ellington Bridge in Washington, D.C., was the site of one-half of all bridge suicides in the city until fencing was installed. Suicide attempts at this bridge reduced dramatically, while suicide rates at the nearby Taft Bridge, which was non-barrier-restricted, remained unchanged.
Harckham’s bill was sponsored by Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall) and Senators Nathalia Fernandez (34th District) and Robert Jackson (31st District).
