Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Woman Critically Injured After Falling From Manhattan Rooftop While Taking NYC Skyline Pictures, Police Say
By
Jen Chung
Published May 6, 2019
Modified May 6, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Google Maps
By
Jen Chung
Published May 6, 2019
Modified May 6, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A 22-year-old woman was seriously injured after falling from her apartment's roof on Saturday night. Police say that she was part of a group taking photographs of the New York City skyline before she fell.
Officers responded to a call about a person who fell from an East 25th Street building around 8 p.m. on May 4th. According to WCBS 2, she "landed in the rear corridor of the building."
A neighbor told the NY Post, "She was taking pictures, and she fell, and apparently she hit the AC unit and landed in the trash area, which is like, horrendous. Horrible. I’m just completely shocked." She added, "I went upstairs because I know these girls. It was just a bunch of girls in the room — all were crying — and a bunch of cops... They’ve lived here for seven months already. They moved in at like the end of the summer. It’s horrible."
Another neighbor recalled, "She was screaming. She was just like, 'It hurts!' She’s lucky to be alive."
The woman, identified as Reilly Hamilton by some outlets, is at Bellevue Hospital in critical but stable condition; she suffered a fractured pelvis, broken right ankle and broken right arm.
The Daily News spoke to a neighbor who said "he heard 'a massive party' for the past two days... I went to work and they were partying. Even when I got back at 6 a.m., they were partying."
Herb Westphalen, who also lives in the building, told WCBS 2, "It’s too easy to fall off. In the past I’ve had friends who put their dogs on the roof and one jumped over, almost killed itself."
Reached by phone in Florida, Hamilton's aunt told the Daily News, "We’re just waiting to hear what's going to happen."
Tagged
fall
manhattan
reilly hamilton
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .