Tenants Association Chair Matt Aaron describes calls on management company, Related to permanently fix the elevators.
By Jean Brannum | jbrannum@queensledger.com
When Chris Szeles found herself stuck in her apartment elevator in 2016, she pleaded with management over the intercom to call 911.
However, instead of calling emergency services, the intercom was shut off, leaving Chris helpless and trapped for over an hour.
“They waited for the elevator company to come for an hour and 20 minutes. I kept begging them, crying to please call 911.”
Hoping to help others caught in the same situation, Szeles decided to call emergency services herself for people stuck in the elevator but was met with backlash from management.
“Anytime I hear the alarm, if I know someone is stuck, I call 911. Management called me and told me that I’m not allowed to call 911 if someone’s stuck in the elevator.”
Szeles requested that the statement be delivered to her in writing. Her request was denied. She still has anxiety when she uses the elevator.
“Anytime it slows down, I get major anxiety,” Szelez said. She said there have been three times this month where the elevator has either made a noise, stopped momentarily, or not shut properly, causing her to fear that she may be trapped again.
Among other tenants, Szeles has struggled with the Hunters Point South elevators. Hunters Point South and Hunters Point South Crossing are part of the same complex and residents say that elevators are a problem in both buildings.
Residents have complained about hours-long wait times, lines for elevators out the door when only one is working, and being forced to climb many flights of stairs when there is no hope of getting the lift.
The anger culminated on Aug 2 when tenants rallied outside of the 37-story building to demand management fix the elevators. According to the residents, the elevators have been an issue since 2015 when the building opened but got worse in 2018.
Complaints to the Department of Buildings about the broken elevators go as far back as January 2016. In 2022, OATH/ECB fined the company $655 for failing to maintain working elevators.
Frank Llewellyn, a tenant since the building opened in 2015, said that elevators have been an ongoing problem and he has waited up to nine hours for an elevator before deciding to climb the stairs.
City Councilmember Julie Won said that her office issued a summons to the DOB after numerous requests that the management company, Related, fix the elevator permanently.
“The tenants have been walking up more than 30 flights of stairs every single day for almost a year.”
Won pointed out that a non-functional elevator makes it hard for members of the disability community, parents with strollers, and dog owners to quickly leave the building as they please. Hunters Point South and its sister building are both affordable housing complexes and rent-stabilized.
James Yu, a tenant on the 34th floor, said that he pays nearly $4000 to live in his unit and that the situation is “unacceptable” at this point.
Yu explained that a flood in 2018 worsened existing elevator problems. He estimated that 300 tenants were displaced and moved to a nearby hotel. When offered little compensation, he and other displaced tenants banned together to receive a little over one month’s rent.
A pipe burst on Yu’s floor and water flooded the building for about 4-5 hours, Yu said. The water went into the shafts.
“We have issues with the elevators prior to that, but ever since the flooding, the elevators have been breaking every day.”
Yu estimated that he has about 60 emails from management apologizing for the elevators. He regularly has to choose between waiting for an elevator or climbing 30 flights of stairs.
Matt Aaron, chair of the tenants association for the building, said that only one of three elevators is working at this time and that management predicts the two other elevators will be out of commission until next week.
“We are beyond a tipping point and are sick and tired of the band-aid solutions management has implemented that only seem to result in the elevators failing just hours after they are supposedly fixed.”
Aaron emphasized that while broken elevators are inconvenient, they are mainly a safety issue and that it is only a matter of time before someone gets injured. The staff also need to use the elevators as much as the tenants do.
“We’re trying to tackle this now to greatly improve our lives and to ensure the safety of both residents and the staff.
The Management company, Related did not respond to a request for comment.
