Two employees of the Chelsea Piers sports complex were instrumental in rescuing a drunken man who fell into the river at Pier 59 off W. 17th St. shortly after 3 a.m. Fri., July 6.
Reginald Marnoly, an employee, heard cries for help and saw the man in the river at the south side of the pier holding onto the end of a rope hanging from the underside of the pier. Marnoly radioed Josh Vega, a supervisor, who raced over from his post on Pier 61 and made his way down to a narrow, wobbly floating dock near the victim and managed to grab him and pull him out of the water. Police and an Emergency Medical Service team arrived, pulled the victim onto the pier and brought him to the hospital where he is expected to recover.
In October 2003, Vega and two other Chelsea Piers employees helped pull a driver from a burning auto wreck on West St. at 24th St. near the north end of Chelsea Piers. That victim, however, died in the hospital.
