Human bones found near carousel in waterfront park in Brooklyn

New York City authorities are investigating after human bones were discovered twice this week on the shoreline of the East River near a waterfront carousel known for its spectacular views of the Brooklyn Bridge.

A city parks department officer found a skull and other bones on the shoreline in Brooklyn Bridge Park shortly before 9 a.m. Monday, police said. A femur was found in the same spot at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The bones were found just feet (meters) from Jane’s Carousel, a merry-go-round that was built in 1922 for an amusement park in Youngstown, Ohio, and installed in Brooklyn in 2011 after an extensive renovation.

The carousel, park and surrounding DUMBO neighbourhood are one of the most photogenic places in the city. The area is visited daily by multitudes of international tourists, many of whom come to get pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge and the nearby Manhattan Bridge, framed by 19th Century brick warehouses.

The city medical examiner’s office is investigating the bones and working to determine whether they are from the same person.

Brooklyn’s shoreline in the neighborhood is a mix of rocky coves and piers that often collect debris floating on the swift currents of the East River, an estuary where the direction of the flowing water changes with the tides.