Tenants outraged over chronic elevator malfunctions at Queens high-rise

NEW YORK - Tenants in a Queens high-rise say faulty elevators have been an inconvenience for years, and now they say it has become dangerous.

Residents report up to 25-minute waits for elevators

At the 38-story building known as Hunter's Point South Commons, rent-stabilized and rent-subsidized tenants say chronic elevator outages have caused anxiety for years. With two of three elevators regularly out of service, residents experience crowding and delays.

"When you have to wait in the lobby for 10, 15, 20, 25 minutes just to get to an elevator, it's very maddening," said resident William Creed, who lives on the 25th floor.

Some say they have been trapped inside elevators for prolonged periods. In a building with pets, children, and seniors, Creed worries about medical emergencies should all three elevators fail at once.

"I do have 80-year-old arthritic knees," he said. "I don't know how I would manage 25 flights of stairs."

Tenant Matt Aaron says calls to management for help don't get very far.

"They sometimes come, they fix an elevator, and a few hours later, it's back out of service," he said.

With tax breaks for affordable housing, Council Member Julie Won says she wants to see accountability.

"It's unacceptable," she said. "When you build affordable housing, you clearly have made less investments, and you are treating them differently, as a second-class citizen."

Building owners ordered to make elevator repairs

Corporate landlord Related is better known for its high-end development Hudson Yards . Department of Buildings-issued elevator violations at the high-rise at 1-50 50th Avenue date back to 2015.

Related Companies said:

"We are grateful to residents for their patience as we make critical repairs to two of the elevators serving the top floors. We understand it is a strain to temporarily share only one elevator on those floors, and we are working to resolve the matter as quickly and safely as possible. We will continue to communicate with our residents on this matter and commit to a thorough review of these services once we have completed the immediate repairs."

The elevator repair company Kone said:

"KONE is aware of the elevator disruptions at Hunter's Point South Commons. We are working closely with building management to take the necessary steps to address the disruptions. Additionally, we have expedited obtaining parts from the manufacturer of these non-KONE elevators that are required to return the elevators at Hunter's Point South Commons to operation as soon as possible. Safety is our top priority, so we are committed to providing safe and reliable vertical transportation."

The DOB said:

"Landlords in New York City have a legal responsibility to keep the elevators in their buildings in safe working order for the benefit of their tenants. Last week, our inspectors issued orders to the owners of this building to make the necessary repairs needed to bring two elevators at the tower back into working service. We will continue to monitor the ongoing repairs at this location, and if owners fail to comply with our orders we are ready to take additional enforcement actions if appropriate."

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