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"All I could see was his legs dangling from the back elevator," said witness Elijah Williams, who said he heard the man's screams when he became pinned between the first and second floors.
The elevator at the New York City Housing Authority-run building on 105th Street started going up before the doors fully closed, according to another neighbor.
"Half his body got caught inside the elevator. His legs were jiggling out," Williams said.
Firefighters worked to remove the man from the elevator, and he was taken to Harlem Hospital in critical condition with a possible leg fracture.
Read more news at NBCNewYork.com
Residents said the building's elevators have a history of problems, and the elevator in which the man was injured Monday was having problems before the incident.
The building is home to many elderly and disabled residents like Williams, who is in a wheelchair.
"My mother is 80 years old. We are both stuck in the house," he said. "We can't leave because we're scared we can't get back upstairs."
NBCNewYork.com: NYC report critical of public housing agency
NYCHA would not confirm whether it had any complaints on record. A spokesperson would say only that the incident was being investigated.
In the meantime, residents crammed into the one working elevator Monday afternoon as a repairman worked on the other. But that's merely a quick fix, according to residents, who are asking for new elevators.
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Leave a Comment:
This is a New York City Housing Authority building? Do we now need federal laws for housing, too?
There already are laws.
I suppose we should now ban elevators, especially high-capacity ones holding more than 10 people.
No, it wasn't the elevator, the problem was the door. We should ban elevator doors.
Obviously Al you are a mentally disturbed person and shouldn't own a pea shooter
I knew a woman once who was stuck in an elevator for 45 minutes, she fainted.
I can already smell the NAACP lawyers lining up to sue NYC for $millions over this incident. Granted, the poor man was seriously injured, but the lawyers need something to help them pay for their new yachts, and this is going to help them do that.
The man deserves compensation, and without a lawyer, is unlikely to receive anything resembling a just sum of money. Scummy as they are perceived to be, when you need a lawyer, you'll change your tune quickly.
This poor man should receive compensation for what he went through. It seems that these stupid tax cuts have defunded just about everything, including safety features for seniors in residential buildings. This is a nightmare for any one who lives in a high rise building that isn't privately owned. It happens more frequently than mentioned as here in Chicago, many elevators hadn't been inspected for 5 years or more. This is something that happens in third world countries.
Here in Chicago, third world country . . .
Trust in your government, for it will always take care of you.
Yep.
Start suing the elevator company and the building management for the negligence in maintaining the elevator. <a href="">Elevator Maintenance | Modernization</a>