When it was completed in 1931, the City Bank-Farmers Trust Company Building towered over the financial district as one of the tallest buildings in New York City. It was in fact the tallest with a stone-clad facade, with 14 Assyrian-style busts, called ‘giants of finance’, watching over the narrow streets from their perch on the 19th floor. Replicas of coins from around the world graced the entrance, representing countries where the National City Bank—which later became Citibank—had branches.
The 59-storey building, at 20 Exchange Place, is now a bustling residential high-rise housing more than 750 apartments, with luxury amenities, stunning harbor views and some rent-stabilized units. Tenants rush into the lobby, with its high ceilings and elaborate marble mosaics, and Art Deco-style elevators to reach their homes.
Or at least they did.
Since November, the skyscraper has been plagued by prolonged elevator outages that have turned everyday life upside down and trapped residents with mobility issues in their apartments. Elevator service is unpredictable and often non-existent, for hours on end, above the 15th floor. The elevators serving the lower floors have continued to operate, even though the outages have become more frequent in the past two months.
In interviews and emails, more than a dozen residents told DailyExpertNews about living in what one described as “high-rise hell,” and how they’ve reorganized their lives as a result. They’ve canceled plans, missed appointments, been late for work, dumped heavy strollers, considered moving. (But how do you get out of a high-rise without a reliable elevator?)
“Our lives changed completely the moment these elevators stopped working,” said Faisal Al Mutar, 30, who lives in a studio on the 22nd floor.
Those who are able have climbed many, many stairs. In fact, one young software engineer has become so accustomed to the walk that he signed up for the 102-story Tunnels to Towers charity climb at One World Trade Center in June.
Erin Campbell, a 28-year-old nurse, was thrilled when she found a “Covid deal” just over a year ago for a two-year lease for an apartment overlooking the water on the 48th floor. Then the elevators broke down, leaving her stranded after long shifts on her feet.
“I’m a nurse, I don’t have a choice: I have to go to work,” she said, explaining how often she returns home to be told the elevators are out. After a recent 12 noon shift, she returned home at 8:30 p.m. to be told by porters that service to her floor would likely not be restored until around 11 p.m.
“I just started crying,” she recalls. “I’m a young, in shape person, so I can do it. But it’s miserable.”
Her bigger concern, she said, is for her neighbors who are unable to make that many flights — as well as the possibility that residents will face delays in receiving medical attention in an emergency, she said.
The building’s owners, DTH Capital, say Con Edison must intervene to resolve the issues, which they believe are likely related to electrical surges from Con Edison equipment. The owners say they’ve hired teams with elevator, electrical and engineering expertise to get to the bottom of the problem.
“These experts have so far been unable to determine the source of the spikes and believe that we will not be able to do so without the full collaboration and 24/7 support of Con Edison,” DTH Capital said in a statement. .
Con Edison, for his part, says it has conducted extensive testing in the building and has found “no indication that our power supply is faulty or at risk.”
“To date, we have not been given a plausible theory as to why the elevator problems, which have arisen since the beginning of the installation of a new elevator system, are related to Con Edison’s equipment or service,” the electric utility said in a statement. †
Con Edison added that it had hired a nonprofit called the Electric Power Research Institute to help with the research.
The building’s owners say elevator control panels routinely burn out and need frequent replacement, and they’ve hired elevator technicians to be on site 24 hours a day to expedite repairs. They also tried to buy surgical boards in bulk but were thwarted by supply chain issues, they said.
Rose Associates, a property management firm, is taking over management of the building after residents complained about how the previous management group, First Service Residential, had handled the elevator problem.
The call system 311 has dozens of complaints about the elevators in the building.
The owners say they have offered some tenants hotel rooms and furnished apartments on lower floors and in another nearby building, and that lease concessions are on the way. Tenants have also been allowed to break their leases, and the building has hired couriers to deliver packages up the stairs and has offered laundry services.
Local elected officials intervened to try to mediate. In a joint statement, Senator Brian Kavanagh, Councilor Yuh-Line Niou and Councilor Christopher Marte said they had worked with Con Edison, the building and city services to resolve the issue and help residents. They scheduled a press conference with residents outside the building on Monday.
Mr Marte said more than 100 residents had contacted his office, some of whom feared they would face retaliation if they contacted the management company directly. He described the situation at 20 Exchange Place as “disturbing and ridiculous”.
Some of the residents interviewed asked to be credited because they were also afraid of reprisals or did not want to jeopardize their chances of receiving housing benefits. The building has also asked some residents to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Sara Irvine, 31, lives on the 43rd floor and said arthritis had prevented her from using the stairs. For a while, during the power cuts, she behaved like she did at the start of the pandemic, going out alone to run errands for two weeks, or doing what she had at home.
“There were nights when there was no way to eat,” said Mrs. Irvine. “I’d just eat crackers or something.”
She and some other residents also said they had experienced sudden shocks during elevator rides. In one instance, the elevator came to a shuddering stop and then began to descend too quickly, Ms. Irvine said. The building owners said in response that the elevator’s “safety stop” kicks in when a voltage spike or dip occurs and can be abrupt and cause a perceived drop.
Ms Irvine took up the offer to stay at a nearby hotel this month, but said coordination has been sloppy, with her stay often extended at the last minute. The situation is all the more frustrating, she said, because she has a stable house that she pays for, but no reliable way to enter or exit it. And she hates that she’s gotten used to the daily uncertainty.
“It’s just emotionally and mentally destabilizing,” she said.
Gina Chen, 30, who lives on the 22nd floor, had considered the elevator problem a simple nuisance – until she broke her foot a few weeks ago.
“It’s a privilege that we can afford to live here, but we didn’t sign up to live in gilded cages,” Ms Chen said. “And now that we’ve had a pandemic situation for two years where we felt trapped, it all feels so much more acute.”
