A man, aged 49, was discovered deceased with knife wounds to his neck in the basement of a chic hotel in lower Manhattan on Sunday morning, according to police reports. The man was found unresponsive and unconscious in a bathroom in the basement of the Public Hotel just after 11 a.m., as per law enforcement and official sources.
The man, who was not registered as a guest at the Bowery-based hotel, was found with a knife lying next to him, according to insider sources. The man was declared dead at the location by the police.
The nature of the knife wounds, whether they were self-inflicted or a result of a violent act, was not immediately clear. As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the incident, the police confirmed.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is set to determine the cause of death, as stated by the New York Police Department. The investigation is currently ongoing, and the identity of the deceased will be disclosed once the family has been notified.
The man’s body was discovered following a large wedding celebration that took place on the hotel’s rooftop. The Public Hotel, where a night’s stay ranges from $200 to $400, is a popular destination for such events, according to guests who spoke on Sunday afternoon.
An alarm was triggered on Saturday night before 11 p.m., followed by an announcement instructing guests to disregard it as there was no emergency. It remains unclear whether this alarm was in any way related to the stabbing incident or the timing of the man’s injuries.
Hotel staff were directed not to engage with reporters who were present at the scene on Sunday afternoon. The Public Hotel, known for its multiple bars, restaurants, and public workout classes, is a popular spot for Instagram photo-ops, with its amber glowing escalators often featured in visitors’ posts and even in a past season of Saturday Night Live’s opening credits.