STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - He held his arms up "like Superman" and dove from the Staten Island Ferry into the cold waters of New York Harbor on Thursday, causing a small flotilla of NYPD Harbor Patrol vessels and a private tugboat to race to his rescue.

Police said the man, described as white and in his 40s, survived after jumping from the upper level of the Staten Island-bound Samuel I. Newhouse around 1:17 p.m.

Witness Fannie Singh of New Brighton said the man held his arms out "like Superman" and jumped.

Police said the man, whose name was not released, climbed over a railing on the boat before taking his plunge.

The jumper was taken to Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, where he will be treated and evaluated. His injuries are not considered to be life-threatening, police said.

Another witness, Will Vargas, of West Brighton, said the man "put his hands up like he was jumping from a cliff" before leaping from the Brooklyn side of the boat.

"He just jumped," Vargas said.

"When the cops came running, he just jumped straight ahead," said witness Alexis Singh.

After the man jumped, the ferry reversed course and headed back toward Manhattan before stopping in the water to attempt a rescue. An orange life preserver was thrown into the water.

As passengers clustered around ferry doors and windows, workers with the tugboat Lee T. Moran from Moran Shipyard in Port Richmond attempted to rescue the man by lowering a ladder and a floatation device into the water.

NYPD Harbor Patrol units arrived on the scene and quickly got the man, who was conscious, out of the water. A police helicopter whirled overhead, adding more drama to the scene.

"I saw him in the water with his hand up in the air," said West Brighton resident William Bruder, who watched the rescue from the ferry. "I guess he changed his mind."

One witness told the Advance that it appeared that an NYPD diver had gone into the water to rescue the man, but police could not confirm that.

The boat had left Whitehall Terminal at 1 p.m. It was fifteen minutes late docking in St. George due to the incident.