A 62-year-old man died Thursday afternoon after falling from a building located steps from Gracie Mansion in Manhattan.
Police responded to 10 Gracie Square in Yorkville around 2:30 p.m. and found the man on scaffolding. Emergency medical services pronounced him dead at the scene. Sources indicated that the man appeared to have jumped from the building.
The 15-story co-op building, constructed in 1931, has housed notable residents over the years, including Madame Chiang Kai-shek and Steve Ross. The Obamas were noted to have previously considered purchasing a unit there. Author Tom Wolfe once described the building as one of only 42 "good buildings in the city."
However, the building has also been associated with tragedies, leading some to describe it as "cursed." Author Jean Stein and Carter Cooper, son of Gloria Vanderbilt, both died by suicide after jumping from penthouses in the building.