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A group of tenants living in public housing is filing a federal class-action lawsuit against the city for its failure to maintain elevators. The NY Times reports that the lawsuit notes that the "widespread and systemic failure to maintain the elevators in its buildings in operable working condition" is a violation of disability and human rights laws. Scrutiny of the NYC Housing Authority's care of elevators came into greater focus after a child fatally fell from a malfunctioning elevator last year, but tenants have complained about malfunctioning elevators for years. The Times offers many harrowing anecdotes from tenants, including: "Phyllis Gonzalez, 61...refers to the times when both elevators go out in her building in the Chelsea Houses as 'double-headers.' Ms. Gonzalez, who lives in a 12th-floor apartment and uses a wheelchair because of arthritis and other health problems, recalled the day a few years ago when, during a double-header, she went down 12 flights of stairs, sitting on one step at a time." The tenants are not looking for monetary damages—just for the NYCHA to fix the elevators in a timely fashion and provide for help the disabled and wheelchair-bound tenants when the elevators are out.
Tenants Sue To Have Public Housing Elevators Fixed
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It's the same media that NEVER mentioned Muslims' hatred of Israel as a possible motive for 9/11.
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Staggering that these are the lengths the poor must go to in order to enjoy the most basic rights. Confounding that NYCHA would rather spend a few millions defending itself in court than get in front of the problem.
Listen to FDNY radio transmissions at www.thebravest.com and hear how many times a day those elevators are out of service. Some homebound person is going to die because emergency services can't get to them in case of a heart attack or stroke.
I've seen some of those elevators. The sad fact is that many of them are broken because there are lots of vandals around, as well as people who just don't care. Slamming your foot against the safety edge to keep it open really isn't necessary, but people do it anyway, as well as jamming the doors open with boxes, burning controls with cigarette lighters, etc. That's why the Housing Authority can't keep up with repairs.
NYCHA doesn't even know how to renew the storefront leases at First Houses. How are they going fix an elevator? I had worked for a contractor years ago that would get contract's with NYCHA. I remember NYCHA are a dirty, scummy, corrupt bunch.
This isn't limited to project buildings either. I once lived on the 18th floor of a condo building in another city, and the elevators were out for most of a day. Adding insult to injury (literally), I was on crutches at the time because of a broken ankle. Talk about being a prisoner in your own house.
"...failure to maintain the elevators in its buildings in operable working condition" is a violation of disability and human rights laws"
Elevators are a basic tenant of human rights? Who knew ... what did they do in the old days before human rights, take the stairs?