Gothamist: Out-of-Commission Union Square Escalators Not the MTA's Fault!

kinako

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:02:24 -0500

A while ago I remember talking to a representative of the Union Square BID about the escalators. IIRC, the back story as to why the escalators are broken and why they remained broken for so long is that contractors doing construction in the station were using the escalators to bring down material in excess of the weight limit. The building repaired the escalators and contractors broke it again. The building wanted the MTA to kick in some money for the repair, but the MTA told the tower that since there was no posted sign telling the contractors not to bring heavy construction material on the escalators, the contractors and the MTA was not liable. I'm sure the extended amount of time was the building and the MTA duking out responsibility. Expect there to be some sort of maximum weight per person including parcels sign no the repaired escalator. I'm not affiliated with Zekendorf Towers, the MTA or the Union Square BID, just live in the neighbourhood.

Think twice

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:00:47 -0500

It's the elderly and physically challenged who deserve better escalator maintenance.

jwhat

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:54:35 -0500

It's not about having to walk up the stairs. It's completely disgusting. And then you get to the top and you have to climb over homeless people. And then the Food Emporium's automatic doors close on you while you try to walk thru. This area needs improvement.

sidenote

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:45:06 -0500

God forbid you have to take a flight of stairs like every other MTA station, fatty.

Tgirl

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:18:37 -0500

so what? there must be some formal arrangement between the MTA and Zeckendorf. Why can't the MTA be more aggressive and insist that Zeckendorf maintian their end of the deal- how incompetent are they?

edEx

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:29:15 -0500

the escalators at columbus circle are Time Warner's responsibility and they are fully replacing them. They have been out of service for almost 3 months... people complain, but then again those are the people that are over weight and do not want to climb stairs.

Alex

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:26:19 -0500

I thought we already knew this? There are two signs right at the bottom of the stairs that clearly display that Zeckendorf owns and maintains the escalators and if you have any problems, they give you a Zeckendorf number to call. If it was the MTA running these, they wouldn't bother with the wood sarcophagus, they would just leave it to rot. If the MTA wasn't such a mess, they could bring a suit against Zeckendorf demanding immediate repairs.

chris

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:18:01 -0500

Ah yes, this is what happens when you leave condo developers in charge of something slated for public use. I'd love to see all of the 'semi-public' parks a few years from now.

Toby von Meistersinger

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:54:57 -0500

At non-MTA controlled entrances, you can usually find a sign with the ownership information. Of course your millage may vary.