The financier who plunged to his death from a Manhattan rooftop bar was identified Thursday as a Connecticut dad of three who filed for divorce from his wife one day before he died, according to police sources and court records.
Dale L. Cheney 46, plummeted from Bar 54 at the Hyatt Centric Times Square New York on West 45th Street near Seventh Avenue, in front of at least two witnesses around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, authorities and the sources said.
He landed on the street below and was pronounced dead, cops said.
The death is being investigated as a suspected suicide, an NYPD spokesperson said.
Cheney’s death came one day after he filed for divorce from his wife, Lauren Cheney, Connecticut court records show.
Law enforcement sources told The Post that police were called to his former Upper East Side home twice in 2008 over domestic disputes with his wife. One of the arguments was over finances.
Cheney founded T-street Capital in 2013 in Darien, Connecticut, about 40 miles northeast of Manhattan, according to public records.
The independent growth equity firm partners with entrepreneurs and management teams through capital investment, strategic acquisitions and other opportunities.
Cheney was also a board member and investor at six different companies in four states, according to his LinkedIn page.
Before starting his own firm, he worked as an investment principal at Citicorp Venture Capital dating back to 2007, and prior to that was at Goldman Sachs for two years beginning in 2005.
He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University, according to the online profile.
Cheney lived in a sprawling six-bedroom, seven-bathroom apartment in New Canaan, Connecticut, records show. The 8,100-square-foot home’s estimated market value is more than $3.8 million, according to its Zillow profile.
A reporter from The Post visited the ritzy address Thursday, where they found scattered sports equipment and a Jeep Grand Cherokee in the driveway.
The reporter knocked on the door, but was turned away by an unidentified woman who said Lauren, 44, was not at home.
The couple has three children who are in their late teens and early 20s, according to police sources.
Just after the fatal plunge, two people at the rooftop bar told police that the man jumped off the building, sources said. One woman called 911, saying she heard a loud noise.
“It was like a little bump, like boom,” Chris Piralta, 31, a parking attendant who was working across the street at the time, told The Post on Thursday.
Another parking attendant, Nino Rodriguez, said he heard a “big crack.”
“Everybody was nervous. I had some woman come through here and she said ‘someone jumped.’ She had big eyes…,” he said.
“It’s a f–ed up situation. It’s unfortunate,” said a hotel worker, before declining to comment any further.
“We are truly heartbroken at the situation that occurred this evening outside our rooftop bar, and we are keeping the victim’s family and friends in our thoughts and hearts,” Tom Blundell, the general manager of the Hyatt Centric Times Square, said in a statement.
“We are working closely with local authorities. The safety and wellbeing of all our colleagues, hotel guests and Bar 54 guests remains a top priority, and at this time, as a result of this tragic incident, we will keep the door to the bar’s outdoor space locked at all times,” Blundell said through a spokesperson.
This is the second time in less than four months a person plunged from the same hotel bar.
In October, aspiring model Elizabeth Gaglewski, of Queens, fell from Bar 54 before hitting a 27th-floor balcony, the NYPD said. Staff tried to swoop in and stop the 26-year-old woman from falling as she stood on the ledge, sources told The Post in October.
Gaglewski was remembered as “sweet and loving” by family.
“She was just a good person, a sweet and loving, caring kid,” her uncle Tony Smith told The Post last year.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
Additional reporting by Steven Vago and Olivia Land
