From left: 17-19 Union Square West and 420 Lexington Avenue (building credits: PropertyShark)The company responsible for maintaining the elevator at 285 Madison Avenue that killed a Young & Rubicam ad executive earlier this month is facing several lawsuits from people injured by their elevators, the New York Post reported.

There are at least eight active cases against the company, Transel. One was filed by the building super at 17-19 Union Square West, who became permanently injured after falling down the elevator shaft when he stepped through open doors before the elevator had arrived. He alleges Transel bypassed the elevator’s parking device which would prevent such an accident. [more]

Six whistle-blowing New York City Housing Authority elevator inspectors have come forward to say they’re being forced to fake reports and take safety shortcuts, according to the New York Daily News. Supervisors, the inspectors say, are obsessed with meeting daily quotas of six inspections per day and often order employees to move to the next job without shutting down dangerous elevators or waiting for a mechanic, as NYCHA rules dictate.

“I told them somebody’s wife could be riding on that elevator, somebody’s kid,” a veteran inspector said. “They didn’t want to hear it.” Another veteran said he was repeatedly told not to enter deficiencies into a hand-held computer that generates work orders.

[more]

After ramping up inspection efforts, the city Department of Buildings has reported that it’s finding 50 percent more elevator violations than in past years. Among the new rules, an expert third-party witness must now be present at the time of the inspection. Since the new rules took effect on Jan. 1, around 15,720 elevators in the city have been forced to make repairs. While some property managers are praising the improved safety regulations, others — especially those in charge of smaller co-ops and condos, where there are fewer residents among which the bill can be divided — say the financial burden is significant. Providing a third-party expert witness at inspections, for example, can pose an extra $175 to $1,300 cost to the building.