PEEKSKILL – In the last two years, 10 people have jumped to their deaths from the five bridges over the Hudson River operated by the New York State Bridge Authority and another person jumped from the Walkway Over the Hudson, also under the jurisdiction of the bridge authority.
State lawmakers gathered on the waterfront in Peekskill on Thursday to urge the state agency to move forward with the installation of climb deterrent fencing.
Senators Pete Harckham and James Skoufis are among those pushing for that and Skoufis said approval could come soon.
“The New York State Bridge Authority has done some work over those two years. They have done engineering, they have done some public scoping, and just this month, on September 21, on their monthly board meetings agenda, they will be voting to move forward with the installation of fencing on their passings,” Skoufis said.
Harckham said studies have shown that climb deterrent fencing can prevent up to 90 percent of the deaths by suicide from people on bridges.
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