Elevators in 60 buildings halted following fatal accident

The Department of Buildings ordered the shut down and inspection of 60 elevators throughout the city following the death of Eran Modan in a lift at the Espoir Luxury Rentals building in Williamsburg last week.Elevators made by Quebec-based Global Tardif, the company that installed the lift at the Espoir, located at 156 Hope Street, are being targeted.

City officials, who said they identified possible problems with the elevators’ brakes, declined to provide a list of the buildings in questions, but Global Tardif manages elevators at properties such as the Superior Ink building in Greenwich Village and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, the New York Post reported.

Officials also pointed out that there are 60,000 elevators in New York, less than one percent of which are being flagged for inspection.

Modan died when the elevator he was boarding dropped half a level, crushing his upper body. More than a dozen people reportedly packed the elevator when the accident occurred. [NYP] – Ariel Stulberg