Results tagged “escalator”

It's not surprising that MyFox News has a four part series (so far) dedicated to broken subway escalators (though perhaps they should also shame the MTA for lack of elevators for the disabled). This time around they report from two locations, including 53rd Street, which sports a lovely escalator behind a glass wall that's been "under repairs" for months. To make matters worse, they even closed off the stairs. Watch to find out how straphangers work that puzzle out:

Authorities investigating the fatal fall of a New York hedge fund executive from an Atlantic City shopping center escalator say that the incident was an "accident." NJ resident James Vellanti had been on an escalator at the Pier Shops at Caesars on Saturday when he somehow fell. The Press of Atlantic City reports, "The escalator from which Vellanti fell travels from the third to the second floor. Frank Gilbert Jr., of Galloway Township, fell from the same one in August 2008, after witnesses said he sat on the handrail."

The MTA's problems with current escalators aside, the agency has just introduced new escalators that go into a "sleep mode" when they aren't being used. The pilot program includes escalators at 34th Street-Herald Square, Roosevelt Island; Jamaica-Van Wyck and Parsons/Archer. MTA hopes to save almost $2,000 (per each escalator) in energy costs annually. While some riders are wary, one found the glass half full, telling NY1, "It's much better than them not working at all! If in fact it goes really slow when I'm not on it and actually works when I'm on it, so much the better."

The 26-year-old man who fell from a Shea Stadium escalator on Saturday night is still listed in critical condition. The Post reports that Justin Larson, a medical school student, is "breathing with the aid of a ventilator" at NY Hospital Queens, with broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and bruising on his brain. Mets officials and the NYPD are investigating the fall (after a man's fatal fall from the Shea escalators in April, a U.S. Product Safety Commission investigation was opened), but Larson's friends said he had been "goofing off" by sitting on the handrail of a non-working escalator. His parents are on their way from Missouri now.

It turns out that the sarcophagus-like conditions for the escalators at a Union Square subway entrance are not due to a lengthy MTA fix. The NY Times reveals that Zeckendorf Towers, the condominium where the escalators are located, is actually responsible for maintaining the moving stairs. While the building didn't say why the escalators were covered with drywall, management did say, "The condominium association has started the process to replace the escalators and looks forward to its completion.” Naturally, no completion date was given, so people can continue to work their glutes.

Last night, during the Mets-Cardinals game, a Cards fan fell 25 feet from an escalator at Shea Stadium. The Post reports that Justin Larson, 26, is in critical condition at New York Hospital Queens, with "broken ribs, bruising on the brain, and a collapsed lung."

A 36-year-old man who was descending a Shea Stadium escalator fell to his death. Antonio Narainasami fell onto the concrete floor, in the section near the left field stands, and fell at least two stories, possibly four stories (the Times says 30 feet).

A 7-year-old New York City boy has joined a growing number of children who’ve had the horrifying experience of getting their feet mangled by escalators while wearing popular plastic clogs made by Crocs. The boy’s mother says the accident happened in a Kentucky airport:

”All of a sudden I hear this excruciating screaming from Nicky and I turn around and his little foot is being sucked into the side of the escalator. It's just like chewing up his foot.”

Continue reading "More Crocs Escalator Nightmares!"

"The skin was peeled off her toe; it's a pretty horrifying injury,” says the lawyer representing the family of a 3-year-old girl in a $7 million lawsuit against the Colorado-based footwear company Crocs. The girl, Emma Hochberg of Westchester, was wearing pink clogs when she got caught in an escalator at JFK Airport, chewing up her big toe and causing “severe and permanent” injuries.

Most of the injuries occurred to people's legs and several fans were taken to Hackensack Medical Center for treatment, although the hospital wouldn't disclose the extent of anyone's wounds. According to NJ.com, however, two people suffered scrapes and bruises, one person fractured a bone, and two other people had more extensive and serious injuries. WNBC has video.