In a famous New York skyscraper, the elevator has not been working for months: for some residents, the apartments have become a prison

When it was completed in 1931, the City Bank-Farmers Trust Building towered over the financial district as one of the tallest buildings in New York. In fact, it was the tallest building with a stone façade, and featured 14 Assyrian-style busts called "giants of finance" watching the narrow streets from their position on the 19th floor. Replica coins from around the world adorned the entrance, representing countries where the National City Bank - which later became Citibank - had branches, reports The New York Times.

The 59-story building, located at 20 Exchange Place, is currently a busy residential high-rise building with over 750 apartments. It has luxurious amenities, stunning harbor views and some stabilized apartments. Residents infiltrate the high-ceilinged lobby with exquisite marble mosaics and Art Deco elevators to reach their homes.

From November skyscraper suffers from lengthy elevator outages that have turned daily life on its head and trapped residents with mobility issues in their apartments. Elevator service is unpredictable and often fails for hours at a time, above the 15th floor. Elevators serving the lower floors continued to operate, despite the fact that over the past two months there have been increasing outages.

Complaints from building residents

In interviews and emails, more than a dozen residents spoke to The New York Times about how they live in what one of them called "high hell" and how they have reorganized their lives as a result. They canceled plans, missed meetings, were late for work, abandoned heavy strollers, intended to move.

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“Our life completely changed once those elevators stopped working,” said Faisal al-Mutar, 30, who lives in a studio on the 22nd floor.

Those who are able have climbed endless ladders. One young software engineer is, in fact, so used to hiking that he signed up for the Tunnels to Towers charity mountain climbing in June at the One World Trade Center.

Erin Campbell, a 28-year-old nurse, was looking forward to a "Covid deal" for a two-year lease on a waterfront apartment on the 48th floor just over a year ago. Then the elevators began to break down, leaving her on her feet after long shifts.

Con edison

The building's owners, DTH Capital, say that Con edison must intervene to resolve issues they believe are likely related to power surges from Con Edison equipment. The owners say they hired teams with elevator, electrical and engineering experience to get to the bottom of the problem.

“These experts have not yet been able to determine the source of the spikes and believe that we will not be able to do so without the full cooperation and round-the-clock support of Con Edison,” DTH Capital said in a statement.

Con Edison, for its part, says it has conducted extensive tests on the building and found "no indication that our power supply is inadequate or compromised."

Con Edison added that they have hired a non-profit organization called the Electric Power Research Institute to help with the investigation.

The building's owners say the elevator's electrical panels tend to burn out and need to be replaced frequently, and that they have hired elevator mechanics to be on site 24 hours a day to expedite repairs. They also tried to buy shields in bulk but were stymied by supply chain issues, they said.

Rose Associates, the management company, is taking over the management of the building after residents complained about the way the previous management group, First Service Residential, handled the elevator problem.

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Homeowners say they have offered some tenants hotel rooms and apartments on the lower floors and in another building in the vicinity, and that discounts on aernda will be provided in the near future. Tenants were also allowed to terminate the lease, and the building hired messengers to deliver packages and offered laundry services.

Local elected officials stepped in to try and mediate. In a joint statement, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Yuh-Line Assemblyman Niu, and Councilor Christopher Marte said they were working with Con Edison, building and city agencies to resolve the issue and help residents. They were planning a press conference with residents outside the building on Monday, March 28th.

Marte said more than 100 residents had contacted his staff, some of whom were concerned that they would face retaliation if they contacted the management company directly. He described the situation at 20 Exchange Place as "disturbing and funny".

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Some residents interviewed asked not to be named because they also feared retaliation or did not want to jeopardize their chances of receiving rental discounts. The building's owners also asked some residents to sign non-disclosure agreements.

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Sarah Irwin, 31, lives on the 43rd floor and says arthritis has prevented her from taking the stairs. For some time, she behaved during blackouts, as she did in the early stages of the pandemic, only going on two-week grocery trips or doing what she had at home.

“There were days when it was not possible to have dinner,” said Miss Irwin. “I just ate crackers or something like that.”

She and some other residents also said they experienced sudden jolts while riding the elevator. In one case, the elevator shook to a stop and then started descending too fast, Irvine said. The building's owners said in response that the elevator's "safety stop" is triggered when there is a power surge or dip, and can be sudden and lead to an apparent fall.

Irvine accepted an offer to stay at a nearby hotel this month, but said the coordination was mixed and her stay was often extended at the last minute. The situation is all the more frustrating, she said, because she has a stable home that she pays for, but no reliable way to get in or out of it. And she hates being used to everyday uncertainty.