Saved by the Trash! Man Jumps 9 Stories, Lands on Piled-Up Garbage

City finally resumes trash pick-up after blizzard leaves big stink

Trash bags heaped outside a Manhattan building because of last week's blizzard helped save the life of a troubled man who authorities say jumped from his ninth floor apartment.

The 26-year-old was taken to Bellevue Hospital shortly after noon on Sunday, fire officials say. He was listed in critical but stable condition.

His aunt, Katharina Capatos, told the New York Post it was lucky the city had the snow and hadn't cleared the garbage. She identified her nephew as Vangelis Kapatos.

She said he told her recently that he was worried about being evicted from his rent-stabilized apartment.

Meanwhile, the Department of Sanitation says it's resuming garbage pickups for the first time since the Christmas weekend storm dumped 20 inches of snow on New York City's streets.

The agency says garbage normally collected on Monday is being picked up.

Recyclables won't be collected until further notice, but Christmas trees will be picked up.

The sanitation department says it will only deploy only half the usual number of garbage collection trucks because they're still hauling away snow.

Alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules, suspended since the Dec. 26 storm to facilitate snow removal, will be suspended again on Monday.       

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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