Man who spent hours on 31st floor window ledge in Midtown taken into custody
NEW YORK -- A standoff with a man hanging out a window in Midtown finally ended Wednesday afternoon.
The situation had been going on for roughly eight hours before he was taken into police custody just after 4:30 p.m.
"What they did today was beyond brave," NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said.
It all started at around 8:30 a.m. when the FBI tried to serve a warrant in connection with an alleged white collar crime to a 35-year-old man. Authorities said he was known to police investigators and the feds long before he perched himself on a 31st story window ledge, with his legs dangling outside and threatening to jump.
As agents tried to enter the luxury building, which is on West 56th Street near Carnegie Hall and not far from Trump Tower, they found their way blocked by furniture and the man's body mostly outside of the window.
A large inflatable was brought to the street below, where people watched nervously. Hours went by.
"They're mediating. I don't know, man, but I just hope he turns himself in," said Amaurys Fabian of Kearny, New Jersey.
During the afternoon, Mayor Eric Adams went inside the building briefly for an update.
"NYPD is patient. They're doing the job," Adams said. "Our hostage negotiation team is the best in the business."
Stuck outside on the street was Mike Samson, a real estate attorney who works in the building next door.
"Mostly, I want to get to work. My work laptop is up there. I can't do much. I'm not very productive if I'm just standing on the street and not working from home," Samson said.
CBS2 told Samson police said they were going to take their time negotiating with the man on the 31st floor, so it would likely be a while before he would be allowed back in.
"If that's the case, I'll probably just gonna go home again. I don't know how much work I can do from home, so hopefully I can get into the office sooner rather than later," Samson said.
"We were watching the whole day," one witness said.
"I've been in the city for a long time working, and I've never seen anything like this," witness Stephen Lampa said.
Watch Dave Carlin's report
Other people said they were taking the situation in stride.
"It's the Big Apple. You never know what's gonna happen," one driver said.
Exclusive cell phone video shows the moment NYPD Det. James Tobin rappels out of a 32nd-story apartment and into the window just below, pushing the man safely inside.
"I was able to guide him into the window, where my teammates were able to take him into custody," Tobin said.
"When somebody was so distraught and so upset about something he may be facing and contemplating taking his own life, ESU made a decision that he would not die today, and they stuck to that decision and they kept their word," Maddrey said.
"I have 1,000 percent trust in my teammates and the equipment issued to us, so there was no real concern," Tobin said.
Finally, officers brought the man out through the front door and into an ambulance.
"It feels great to save someone," Tobin said.
The 35-year-old man is now in FBI custody, undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.
It's unclear what federal charges he's facing, but the Manhattan district attorney's office told us the man has a bench warrant on felony fraud and grand larceny charges.