Breaking » Man jumps from 25th floor of Long Island City waterfront tower
It appears this morning, a man was touring the Avalon Riverview North luxury rental building at the LIC waterfront, and unexpectedly jumped off a balcony on the 25th floor of the building. As in suicide. There are a few stories circulating about the specifics, but it does appear that a man jumped to his death today from the 25th floor of Avalon North.
UPDATE 3/7/10
From the Post:
“A jobless Queens man despondent over his ill mother’s costly medical bills yesterday posed as an apartment hunter to get inside a luxury high-rise — just so he could leap to his death from a 25th-floor balcony. Anastasi Calatzis, 38, sent a grim text message to his brother and then jumped from the Avalon Riverview North in Long Island City. The out-of-work Lexus salesman — facing foreclosure on his Astoria home — told the agent he needed to make a phone call and stepped out onto the terrace boasting sparkling views of the East River and the Manhattan skyline.
There he sent a text message to his younger brother, George. “He said, ‘Please take care of my mother. I can’t take it anymore,’ ” said his grieving cousin, Marianne Costantinou, 52. “He left all the account numbers, all the keys and apologized in the text for all the pain he was going to cause.” Then, without another word, the “mama’s boy” — as she fondly called him — scrambled over the side as the broker had his back turned.
Costantinou said Calatzis’ mother, Pota, 59, suffered a stroke in August during a visit to her home outside Sparta, Greece. “After his mother got sick, he couldn’t bring himself to work anymore,” she said. “He was very close to his mother. He was with his mother every day, every single day. She wasn’t getting any better, and it wore him down, and it wore him out.” She had no medical insurance, the bills were mounting, and a lien was put on his house.
- Apartment buyer tours high-rise to jump [NY Post]
I was there when it happened. -just about to sign a lease. IDK , a bit freaked. I feel bad for the guy. Hope he’s in a better place.
I am an on-site salesmen for the Solarium on 48th ave. I was sitting in my car outside of our building facing the city when something caught my eye and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was the first person on the scene and the first to call 911. I wish I could forget…
why no window guards?
He jumped off the balcony. Climbed on top and swung his feet over. Talked to a woman who saw the whole thing. Nuts.
A lot of apartments have balconies, so window guards wouldn’t have done anything. Besides, window guards are an option.
Does anyone know what actually happened?
I’ve heard that he was being shown an apartment for rent by the Realtor ,
I don’t know if he planed his death prior to coming to see the apartment or whether he decided to kill himself the last moment
Please….if any one you know says they are going to do something like this, call 911 to get them hospitalized and treated before it’s too late.
I was there to look at an apartment and the agent that was showing the guy came bursting out of the elevator and said that \he jumped out.\ So, I went out and saw the guy on the side of the building. I can’t still believe that someone jumped out. May he rest in peace
Has there been any news coverage of this?
He didn’t lose his life #1… he threw it away.
What an incredibly selfish and cowardly act. He could have easily landed on someone killing them as well. Not to mention the young children who could have been tramatized witnessing this. I can’t say I have any tears to shed for someone so inconsiderate. I’m just glad no one else who values live was hurt.
I feel terrible for this person that he decided to end his life this way. I’m sure the agent that was showing him the apt is completely traumatized and now will never be the same after seeing this. So sad.
This kid was a Greek guy very young and healthy, the suicide was planed and he had been talking about it for years. Apparently life just got too tough and he decided to give up! He was suppose to jump from that building last week on the anniversary of his father’s death but for some reason it didn’t happen. I got this information from people who knew him and his family. he left suicide note’s and text a suicide message to his family 5 minutes before jumping telling them that he was going to jump!!! I feel sorry for his family, friends and anyone who witness his death.
No one is immune from the trials and tribulations of life and it’s always easier to runaway then to fight!
To anyone reading this! Just remember… Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
13, try to have a little understanding. Who is the selfish one here? Your reaction is shocking to me. Someone is his mental state is incapable of making reasoned judgments. I wish his family doesn’t have to read your callous comments.
It’s funny how we say money doesn’t matter, but obviously it does. Financial ruin has led to thousands of suicides all over the world… we’re just not very used to it this country. But it’s bad times over here, finally so bad we might be seeing more suicides related to fiscal problems. This is a sad story. I mean on one hand he’s not a victim because he was responsible for his death, and also for traumatizing hundreds of people in different ways, not to mention his family. But at the same time, I feel sympathy that someone would be in a place where jumping from the Avalon seems like the best thing to do. That must have been very dark and lonely. I hope anyone else who feels similarly seeks help and support. I feel for the guy’s mother. She must be devastated.
No. 16 that’s all well and good, but a lot of people are in the vicinity of that area on a daily basis. Suppose your mother, husband, wife, etc. had been sitting in a car that he landed on? Or you had been walking your son by in a stroller that he landed on? Or if you were the mother of a young child who witnessed the act or the after effects who now requires counseling? Would you still pontificate and lament over the personal demons in his life?
I stand by my statement. If it is selfish to put the interests of those who value life ahead of those that don’t, then I’m guilty as charged. I do however feel sorry for the mother and the family. Not only did he leave others to deal with the bills, and whatever other problems that he did not take care of they must also bear cross of this most cowardly act.
I live in this condo. It was horrible. RIP.
#18 there could be some mental illness involved – like extreme depression or prolonged lack of sleep.
Severe stress can really mess with someone’s mind. The true villain in this story to me is this country’s horrible health care system. This is not the first time someone has faced losing their home because they didn’t have proper health insurance.
18, you have a lot of anger and no compassion. Still, I’m charitable enough to hope you never have to suffer the anguish that led this poor guy to kill himself.
#19, you do not live in this condo. This is not a condo, it’s an apartment building.
If you are thinking about suicide get help. Who knows the real facts of his state of mind, so its silly to speculate about them here. What I do know is that to take ones life in such a manner puts others in physical and mental danger. He wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. There are much less dramatic ways of doing onself in that don’t put others at risk.
SUPPOSE THIS, SUPPOSE THAT, BLAZE OF GLORY THIS… WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT??? NOBODY GOT HURT, PERIOD, END OF STORY. I PERSONALLY KNEW THE DECEASED FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND WILL TELL YOU THAT HE WAS THE KINDEST MOST GENTLE MAN THAT YOU WOULD EVER MEET. UNFORTUNATELY, NONE OF US SAW THE WRITING ON THE WALL AND FAILED HIM. THATS SOMETHING THAT WE NOW HAVE TO LIVE WITH FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. ALLOW HIM TO RIP AND KEEP YOUR 101 DIFFERENT SCENERIOS OF WHAT COULD OF HAPPENED TO YOURSELF. HAVE A LITTLE COMPASSION AND PRAY THAT ONE DAY YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR LOVED ONE STARING DOWN 25 STORIES OFF A BALCONY.
Here is where blogging as ‘media’ treads new territory for us all. In old newspaper time, there was not this level of connectivity, instantaneously and anonymously, between community members and the news reporting. Sometimes (like right now) it can be very challenging to navigate.
liQcity would like to extend a full apology to the family of the deceased for any expressions on this website that were received as offensive – within the post as well as the comments.
Please know that Hunters Point, especially the waterfront, is a very small and tight-knit community, and it has been extremely stunning and emotional for us all to experience a death so closely in this manner. Please accept the views expressed on this blog as the raw reactions of a shocked local community – suicide in general is a very controversial human experience, that hits close to us all. Especially in our currently deemed Dark Times. Hopefully we won’t become too familiar with such an experience.
Sincerest condolences from liQcity and the LIC community.
My family and I just moved into the building a week ago. What a gruesome start to our life in a new neighborhood. We are shocked and sad for the man who lost his life. I’m just glad nobody else got hurt. My wife and I just left the building moment before it happened. I hope that is not a bad omen…..