Blog Topic

ANOTHER TRAGEDY IN HOUSING AUTHORITY ELEVATORS
Posted by: William Gentile
December 08, 2008

Sorry for the delay in posting lately, work has gotten hectic. A case that deserves our attention is the tragic death of 5-year-old Jacob Neuman in a New York City Housing Authority elevator. We have detailed the constant problems being experienced in Housing Authority elevators over the last several months. The tragic accident happened in August at a Brooklyn housing project. New details are emerging about the case via the New York Times.

Jacob Neuman was riding an elevator when the power in the elevator was shut down. He attempted to jump down to the hallway floor from the stalled elevator but instead fell backwards tumbling 120 feet down the elevator shaft to his death. .

The new details on Jacob's accident were found in a 52-page report by inspectors with the city's Department of Buildings revealing that the elevator's technical problems were tied to faulty maintenance by the buildings landlord, the New York City Housing Authority.  The shutdown appears to have been caused by the misalignment and wear and tear of electrical contacts in the motor room control panel, which experts say should have been part of the elevator's day-to-day routine maintenance. According to the Buildings Department records, prior to the accident, the elevator had failed 8 of 11 inspections

The accident report reveals that the elevator's technical problems were tied to faulty maintenance by the building's landlord, the New York City Housing Authority, the city's public housing agency.

Both the power shutdown and the opening of the cab door appeared to have been caused by the misalignment and wear and tear of electrical contacts in the motor room control panel, the report said. Other elevator experts and inspectors, including one familiar with the Housing Authority's elevator operations, said checking for wear and tear on electrical contacts and replacing worn-out ones should have been part of the elevator's routine maintenance.

As we detailed previously, members of the New York City Council have demanded that the New York City Housing Authority address this growing problem before more people get hurt.

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HOUSING PROJECT ELEVATORS BREAK DOWN AGAIN
Posted by: William Gentile
November 11, 2008

Despite constant media attention, there continue to be problems with elevators in housing projects.  The Daily News reported yesterday that elevators in the Mott Haven Houses in the Bronx felt trapped in their apartments by inoperable elevators.  As we mentioned last week the City Council has demanded that the New York City Housing Authority do something to stop the constant breakdown of elevators. 

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UPPER EAST SIDE WOMAN FALLS DOWN ELEVATOR SHAFT
Posted by: Will Gentile
October 31, 2008

The Daily News is reporting that a Harlem woman fell 12 feet down an elevator shaft yesterday. This is another tragic example of a phantom elevator door opening, potentially causing catastrophic injury. The article states that the woman lived in public housing owned and operated by the New York City Housing Authority. The City Council recently demanded that the city fix what has become a recurring problem.

We have handled cases like this for years. This is a classic example of the law on property owner liability. Here, a dangerous condition exists that could have been caused by many things.  The key will be to show that the owner/manager of the property knew or should have known about the problem. If it can be proven, among other things, that repairs were not made, or proper inspections were note done then there could be a viable lawsuit. As always, with a city agency like the Housing Authority, a potential claimant is required to file a notice of claim within 90 days of the incident.

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