A suicidal man from Brooklyn was rescued by police before jumping from the Verrazano Bridge on Tuesday, the New York Daily News reported.
Authorities said the man, 62, parked on the bridge at 11:15 a.m. He climbed over the railing and walked out on a girder that lays 300 feet above the water, preparing to jump.
Once police officers arrived, they began talking to the musical instrument repairman who said he was in financial trouble and had no family.
"Well, we just became your family," Lt. Jack Cambria of the hostage negotiation team told him, recalling the incident. "Look around you. We have at least 250 people here for you."
"I just wanted to buy him 24 more hours," he added. "I told him that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. If he jumps, that's it."
Cambria also discussed commonalities with the distressed man.
"We're both from Brooklyn so I bought some credibility with the guy," he said.
After an hour of speaking with the police, the man decided not the jump and retracted his steps toward the bridge.
Emergency Service Unit Police Officer Vlad Green approached the man on the girder, placed a harness on him, and pulled him in to safety while police boats watched below.
After he was recovered by officers, he was taken to Lutheran Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation.
Since December 2011, six people jumped to their death from the Verrazano Bridge, in addition to five other attempts. To prevent suicides, signs on the bridge that say "life is worth living" and provide suicide hotline numbers have been posted.
Despite some effort made to halt the number of suicides, relatives and friends of loved ones who've jumped from the bridge say more could be done.
"It was really hard when my uncle died," said Jessica Suero. "Before, I didn't notice how many people were jumping. By putting a fence up, you could stop it. Now you're seeing a beautiful bridge become a suicide bridge."
