A man tentatively identified as a Harvard sophomore fell to his death yesterday afternoon from a 16th-story window in New York City.

John P. Neumann '86, of Adams House and Palo Alto, Calif., appeared to have "jumped of his own volition" from the Criminal Courts building in downtown Manhattan, said New York Police Sgt. John Codiglia.

Neumann was preliminarily identified by a Harvard bursar's card and a California driver's license found on the body. As of mid-night last night, Neumann's father Peter Neumann had not arrived in New York to make positive identification.

According to press accounts, the man fell down an airshaft toward the rear of the 17-story building at 4:45 p.m. while hundreds of people in the adjacent interior courtyard looked on.

Friends described 20-year-old Neumann as cheerful, outgoing and laid-back, but said he had been depressed for several days before leaving for New York for the weekend.

Neumann often traveled to New York for meditation sessions with Sri Chinmoy, the leader of a loosely organized Indian meditation group, friends said.

Police said it was unclear why Neumann could have been in the Criminal Courts building. His name did not appear on police or district attorney dockets.

"There was nobody else involved, but [the incident] is under investigation," said Diane, Keebler, public affairs officer for the New York police.

There were no witnesses to the moment of the fall, officers added.

Police refused to confirm the identity of the man although Neumann's identification cards were the only ones on the body, Keebler said.

"Whenever something like this happens, you don't have a positive identification until someone comes to the morgue and says, 'That's my son,'" added the police detective on the case.

Police officers expressed displeasure with the leakage of the tentative identification to the press. Before the police could locate and notify Neumann's family, Boston reporters had alerted the student's roommates, who called Neumann's parents.

"The family was notified on the telephone, which is not our policy. It's not a very nice way to get tragic news," the detective said.