New York City – An elevator at a Brooklyn apartment building where a 5-year-old boy died Tuesday when he fell down the shaft had been scheduled to be modernized in 2004, but the work was twice deferred because of federal cutbacks, according to the New York City Housing Authority, the building’s landlord.
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It is unknown whether the delays contributed to the accident, which is under investigation, but they underscored what housing advocates and union officials say are growing maintenance concerns at the housing authority, the city’s largest landlord, as it struggles to close large budget gaps amid shrinking government aid.
The elevator involved in the death of the boy, Jacob Neuman, which jammed on Tuesday between the 10th and 11th floors, stalled between the same floors a little more than a month ago, on July 11, said Israel Rosenberg, president of the tenants’ association at the building’s complex, the Taylor-Wythe Houses.
Howard Marder, a Housing Authority spokesman, said the two elevators in the building had stalled five times in the last six months. Housing authority inspectors rated the building’s elevators “unsatisfactory” in at least 17 of 21 inspections from 2004 through 2007, according to records filed by the authority with the Department of Buildings. And the building has been the subject of at least a half-dozen complaints of elevator breakdowns since 2004, records show.
Authority officials say the unsatisfactory ratings were mostly for minor maintenance issues like broken light bulbs or oil leaks in elevator motor compartments. None of the problems were deemed hazardous or warranted a violation, Mr. Marder said.
Residents say the problems run deeper than city records indicate. The elevators in the 12-story building where the boy died, 70 Clymer Street in South Williamsburg, stall often, according to residents, who say they resort to using the stairs or calling firefighters for help.
Housing advocates and union officials say the problems are indicative of the authority’s widespread maintenance problems in the face of dwindling government aid. The authority oversees 406,000 residents in 2,600 buildings with more than 3,300 elevators, and it has made deep cuts in spending and its work force in recent years to contend with budget gaps. It faces a $170 million deficit in its operating budget this year.
From 2001 to 2008, it lost a total of $611 million in federal funds for its operating budget, and $450 million more for capital projects, including elevator replacements.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” said Gregory Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, which represents housing authority workers. “We’re not going to say that if Nycha was funded properly this would have been prevented. What we will say is that the federal government has not lived up to its promise to fund public housing.”
Authority officials acknowledge the budget problems but say they have not led to reductions in elevator maintenance or inspections staff. In fact, the number of mechanics and staff members has remained largely stable over that period.
But the cuts have delayed elevator overhauls. The building’s elevators were scheduled to be modernized in 2004 at a cost of $3.4 million, according to authority officials, but because of cuts in federal aid, the authority has twice deferred rehabilitation, which is now scheduled for next year. The elevators were installed in 1970, before the complex was finished in 1974, and they were last modernized in 1986, officials said.
Housing authority officials say modernizations for other elevators have also been delayed, though they could not say Tuesday for how long. “Would it have made a difference?” Mr. Marder said. “It might have and it might not have, because these are machines, and machines often break down. They’re fallible.”
According to the authority, the number of elevator breakdowns in buildings it owns fell to 25,936 in the first six months of this year from 27,358 in the first half of last year, a 5 percent reduction.
In a continuing survey, 49.1 percent of housing authority residents rated elevator services as poor or bad, according to Community Voices Heard, an advocacy group made up mostly of public housing tenants. Nearly 44 percent said they thought overall maintenance conditions had declined in the last five years.
The Department of Buildings, under criticism for its enforcement of elevator regulations, has been cracking down on private landlords. As part of that effort, it began posting the names of the 10 landlords with the worst records of elevator violations on its Web site. The department does not oversee the authority, which conducts its own inspections.
The authority was criticized last year after a 47-year-old Brooklyn woman with asthma died while trying to walk up 10 floors to her Bushwick Houses apartment after waiting in vain for elevator repairmen.
Agnes Rivera, a resident of the Wagner Houses in East Harlem, said a neighbor who suffered a heart attack last year died when paramedics taking her to a hospital got stuck in the elevator. “They unjammed the door, but it was too late,” said Ms. Rivera, a housing advocate with Concerned Voices
The Brooklyn district attorney’s office started an investigation today into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 5-year-old boy who fell in an elevator shaft in an apartment building in Brooklyn.
“We have officially begun an investigation through our rackets division to determine if there is any criminality involved or laws were broken,” said Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes.
Mr. Schmetterer said it was too early to say whether any city agencies would be directly investigated. But he said that the first step would be to obtain documents about the safety record and elevator inspections at the building to determine who was responsible.
Howard Marder, a spokesman for the Housing Authority, which is the building’s landlord and conducts the elevator inspections, said in a statement on Tuesday that the authority and other city agencies were looking into the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death.
He had no further immediate comment on Wednesday about the district attorney’s investigation, but he added that the police department, the Buildings Department and the Housing Authority were already working together to try to determine the cause of the tragic accident.
we shuld try to get some help from the iraq govermant
they don’t have $ for elevator maintenance, but have $ for the lawsuits. Bloomberg is a financial “genious” There was an old advertisement (i think for some car maintenance product or service/) “pay me now, or pay me later” is how it went.
If this building would be owned by a private citizen he would be arrested and charged as a criminal, who in the city is being charged for this crime
how can they possibly say if it was fixed this incident may or may not have happpened????????????????????? are they that crazy the only reason why nebach this poor heilege neshomah is not with us now is because the ELEVATOR BROKE DOWN…. and all bloomberg is worried about is congestion pricing wake up it couldve happened to any of us with elevators oh i am sorry i am sure his works 100%….
The lawsuit is going to cost the city way more than proper elevator maintenence. Yet do not worry, the city will raise parking fines, real estate taxes, charge to enter Manhattan, etc. with the backhanded blessing of our great councilman Simcha Felder.
Instead spending billions to send phoenix to mars.
Excuse me, the city’s excuses are simply unacceptable. If they can’t run the buildings the right way then let them privatize them.
I have worked as an independent inspector in many NYCHA buildings (not this one) and have constantly told them about unsafe things. There standard response is tell me off for reporting them. This is NOT a one off incident and they should be made to answer to an independent authority.
I estimated they must have an income of about $1M/month from their properties. The better buildings /locations, they sometimes sell off. There must be some ‘fat cats’ at the top, taking huge salaries & benefits, while doing nothing to maintain the buildings.
25,936 elevator incidents in 6 months??? That is more than 1 per building per month! That is madness.
Joe Hynes bungled the Yankel Rosenbaum case! He bungled the Gideon Bush case! We all remember what he did to Rabbi Freiluch! Etc… He can not be trusted!
Rabbi Freiluchs trouble wit the system was as was fighting wit Juliana let take the help from WHO it come from but not to make any cover ups for the city!!!!!!!!!!!!
let the the us district attorneys office office step if any corruptions wit the union city officials was here
to all those commets how a private citizen would have been arestted, should ask would a private citizen also give you rent for a mere few hunderd $$$ and free electric and gas???
stop crying…
dont make bike lanes in williamsburg, rather fix our elevators
anon 1:59-are you saying that living in one of these neglected buildings is a bargain? A death trap for an elevator is No Bargain-think again.
Anon 1:59
So let me see if I understood your sick logic. It’s better to have low rents and free gas and electric and so what if a 5 year old innocent child dies every once in while. How idiotic.
Make them pay – NYCHA for repairs & the residents to NYCHA for a reasonable rent.
hynes will come up that the boy and the jews living in the city housing are the fault
a private citizen is pocketing less profit at the end of the day, he has mortgage and taxes to pay.
The bike lanes in Willie are next, try driving down the roads and you hit bikes on all sides, it is becoming hazardous to drive since those lanes are installed. What are we waiting for Mayor?
The main thing is that BLOOMBERG is only busy with all other landlords. Let him start looking at his own agencies first and then critisize all other landlords. Should this accident had happen at any other private building Bloomberg would have been there and preach how we need more safety lessons. because this is a City owned building it will be “Farwished” and thats all.
Shame on you BLOOMBERG!! its time for you to go.
I’m not saying not to fix elevators, what I’m saying is stop comparing NYCHA to a private citizen..cuz went it comes to renewing leases I’m sure no one would want NYCHA to charge like
a private citizen would….what happened is tragic
does anyone know of any city projects which the city is not funding repairs, due to lack of funds
The city should go out of this. The city should not be a landlord.
To Anon 2:52
1) Every housing authority building,
2) Every road needs repair,
3) Most of the Subway needs a lot of work,
4) Many bridges need repair (think Minneapolis),
5) Many other government buildings,
6) Nearly all kids playgrounds
and I’m sure much more – all could be repaired if they had more funds.
1:59 i cant beleive you said something so uncarring what would you say if it was your child or grandchild would you like to try on your own flesh trust me its not fun.im sure the parents would pay a higher rent and have there son here with them then what just happend you are one heartless person you should be ashamed of your self
Hynes has proven his contempt for the Frum community! What a joke! I agree with Anon 2:24pm.
What happened yesterday is a sad story and there should be a full investigation.
Chevre lets think a secound, We all want repairs, clean streets, etc, but how do you think the City is going to pay for all this?
Better question how does a City make money to pay for all of their expenses?
When tickets were raised, real estate taxes raised, taxes raised everyone screamed NO, so the City fired employees and cut back expenses now everyone screams WHY?
Again I’m not talking about this accident, I’m talking in General.
Anon8 Says:
To Anon 2:52
2) Every road needs repair,
3) Most of the Subway needs a lot of work,
4) Many bridges need repair (think Minneapolis),
and I’m sure much more – all could be repaired if they had more funds.
08-20-2008 – 3:15 PM
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That’s why Bloomberg tried CONGESTION PRICING but we were all against it, so please give us an idea on how the City should raise the funds to do all the repairs.
What I want is an address of City Buildings which are in need of repair.
to City Employee:
Are you Mayor Bloomberg??? its seems so to me, I dont care if the city has funds or not, if the elevator is broken shut it down (if you cant fix it). a broken elevator= a death chamber
poor shafale my heart goes out for the parents.
Bottom line-You get what you pay for-crappy urine filled elevators-goyishe ,immodestly dressed neighbors across the hall-broken intercoms-suspicious characters lurking in the lobbys-Climbing up 10 floors or more on Shabbos & Yom Tov-& 1 dead child.Ive been in these buildings to service Chassidishe clients , for the life of me I never understood why they live there besides the cheap rent,there are a lot of things in those buildings against Chassidishe lifestyle.I dont think the cheap rent is worth it
TELL IT LIKE IT IS ANON 5:49……..
THAT`S SURE THE NYCHA DONT CARE ABOUT THER TEANETS
to all of u that say how shuld the citi pay for this ! i will replace that elevator for 1.5 mil not for 3.3 mil and i will not give a kikback to mayer bloomberg or any of his empl. ! point maid i run 3000 apt . all over ny nj ct pn. fl. and 4 mil. sq.of comer. space my cost is half the city cost the problem is the union and the mayer i hold them respos.