Brooklyn Elevator Only Works Half The Time

NYC Subway riders are already up against it on a daily basis whether it be with delays or the system conditions they face daily. So when an elevator that was installed to help ease commutes only works 50% of the time, it just adds further insult to injury.

This is the case at the Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center station where according to the transit advocacy group Transit Center, the elevator was out of service 88 days in the first 6 months of 2018 making its availability stand at a pathetic 52%. Here are more details courtesy of their exclusive report:

A TransitCenter review of MTA/New York City Transit elevator performance data found that eight of New York City’s wealthiest real estate owners are shirking their legal obligation to maintain and operate their subway station elevators at stations adjacent to their properties.

From January to June 2018, the nine worst performing privately-controlled elevators in the subway were in service only 81% of the time. That may sound like a passing grade, but that availability translates to 301 days of outages, or 33 days per elevator in justthe first half of the year. The performance of these elevators is so bad it makes the MTA-maintained elevators look impressive by comparison, which themselves need major improvement.

Onexim owns the worst performer, an elevator that serves the 40,000 daily commuters at Barclays Center-Atlantic Avenue station, home to 10 subway lines and L.I.R.R. commuter rail. That elevator was operational a pathetic 52% of the time – barely more than a coin toss – for 88 days of outages. The eight other elevators serve stations adjacent to luxury condominiums and multi-million-dollar office towers, including Times Square Intercontinental Hotel, 7 Bryant Park, 400 Park Avenue South, Two Court Square, Resorts World Casino, 3 Bryant Park, and 100 Willoughby Street.

Click here for the complete report.

The report came as no surprise to me. I seem to always see an escalator or elevator out of service on virtually every one of my subway commutes regardless of what borough I am in.

A big part of the problem usually stems from the ones run by private companies who agreed to maintain them for huge loophole benefits for real estate builders. Such loopholes need to be closed as the MTA would be better off maintaining all the equipment as their response times tend to be better versus the private company.

However one has to ask themselves, does the MTA or these private companies even care? I seriously doubt it considering the historical track record of these outages throughout the system. Once again the paying customer gets the shaft. Stop me if you heard me say that before!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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