A 19-year-old man survived a jump from the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River on Wednesday after a group of jet skiers spotted him struggling in the water and pulled him to safety within seconds. The teenager was handed off to the NYPD Harbor Unit, taken to South Street Seaport, and then rushed by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital, where police say he remained in stable condition.
The rescue was carried out by members of NYC Pirates, a local jet ski group, who happened to be out enjoying an unseasonably warm day near the bridge when they noticed a commotion, according to the New York Post. The group saw a police boat racing toward the span with rescue ropes already out, trailing a man who was standing atop the bridge. Group president James “Whiteboy” Reichelt gunned his jet ski toward the splash the moment the teen went into the water, per the same account.
Reichelt found the teenager about a foot below the surface, still conscious, injured but able to move and make noise. A second NYC Pirates member jumped onto the back of Reichelt’s jet ski to help steady the young man while Reichelt and the group brought him toward the waiting NYPD Harbor Unit boat, which ferried him to South Street Seaport before an ambulance took him the rest of the way to Bellevue.
“Hold On, Buddy, I Got You”
Reichelt later described the rescue on social media, recounting that he told the teenager, “Hold on, buddy, I got you! Don’t worry, I’m here.” The teen reportedly responded, “I’m sorry.” Reichelt said the young man’s expression showed fear and that he believed the teen instantly regretted jumping, the article notes.
Reichelt stressed how little time rescuers had to work with, saying that seconds on the water can be deadly. That urgency tracks with guidance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which notes that the East River is a tidal strait where flood and ebb tides generate rapid, erratic currents and localized surges that make self-rescue extremely difficult for anyone who enters the water, as detailed in earlier Hoodline reporting on a separate East River rescue near Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The roadway deck of the Brooklyn Bridge sits roughly 135 feet above mean high water at center span, while its granite towers climb 272 to 278 feet, according to the New York City Department of Transportation. That distinction matters for understanding the physical scale of the fall the teenager survived, since a jump from the bridge’s pedestrian deck involves a drop closer to 135 feet rather than the full height of the towers.
A Recognizable Face on the East River
Reichelt launched the annual NYC Jet Ski Invasion in 2017, and it has since grown into a major gathering of 600 to 800 personal watercraft riders moving through city waterways under Coast Guard and NYPD escort, per Pro Rider Magazine. NYC Pirates has also hosted water disco parties on Bronx waterways attended by jet skiers and boaters, gatherings that drew noise complaints from residents near City Island and Hart Island, as the New York Post reported in September 2025. The group has faced that friction even as members say they have rescued exhausted swimmers from the water on numerous occasions and once responded to a boat fire.
Reichelt said he is always willing to help others, and the group has hosted an annual fundraiser for mental health awareness groups over the past few summers, according to the Post’s report. He urged anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts to reach out for help rather than put their life at risk.
Latest in a String of Bridge Emergencies
Wednesday’s rescue adds to a run of high-profile emergencies on the Brooklyn Bridge this year. In September, NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers carried out a high-angle cable rescue to retrieve a woman perched over the East River, shutting down traffic for more than an hour, Hoodline previously reported. In August, a 44-year-old man survived a jump into the East River after climbing the bridge’s north tower and was pulled from the water by the NYPD Harbor Unit.
The NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit maintains roughly 330 specialized officers across ten citywide squads, while its separate Harbor Unit runs patrol boats and SCUBA dive teams for maritime rescues across the city’s waterways, according to Wikipedia. The Brooklyn Bridge itself carries more than 103,000 vehicles, 28,000 pedestrians, and 5,500 cyclists each day, per the city’s Department of Transportation, meaning emergencies on the span routinely unfold in front of a large and visible crowd.
Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts can reach the NYC 988 helpline, which offers free, confidential support 24/7 by phone, text, or chat in more than 200 languages, according to NYC Health.
