FULTON FERRY LANDING -- The famed River Café became a rescue site on Friday afternoon when employees spotted a woman swimming in the water near the adjoining Fulton Ferry Landing pier.

Scott Stamford, general manager of the upscale harbor-side restaurant, well-known for its views of the Manhattan skyline, said that they called the police. Then, when the woman reached a point directly adjacent to the café, they threw out a life preserver attached to a rope.

The woman, whom Stamford described as being in her 30s, grabbed hold of it. The employees then dragged the rope and life preserver south, to the café’s dock, all the time going against the current.

In the meantime, police from the Harbor Patrol had arrived and were hovering near the Fulton Ferry Landing patrol in their own craft, Stamford said.

After the woman, whom Stamford described as being “very disoriented,� was taken indoors, the employees made sure she was OK and gave her something to eat. Then they gave her into the custody of the waiting police.

--Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008 All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law. Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net CAP A River Café employee pulls a line, as a “disoriented� woman found swimming in the water holds on frantically to the life preserver. Photo by Scott Stamford