Paramedics pulled a dead man from the waters of Coney Island Beach on Thursday morning, police said.
Emergency medical personnel found the fully-clothed body of 54-year-old Coney Islander Jose Castillo floating near a jetty just after 9 a.m., officers said, adding that the paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police said Castillo was a resident of nearby independent living facility Surf Manor, on Surf Avenue between W. 23rd and W. 24th streets. The adult home was one of the subjects of a 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigation, which found that officials at the facility and other state-regulated homes allegedly abused and were ill-equipped to deal with the mentally-ill adults in their care.
A woman who answered the phone at Surf Manor confirmed to a reporter that Castillo was a resident of the facility, adding that he had lived there for more than 10 years and suffered from unspecified mental health issues.
The New York City Medical Examiner will determine the cause of Castillo’s death, and the investigation is ongoing, police said, adding that they do not suspect foul play.
