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Times Square Elevator Suddenly Drops Three Floors
By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 20, 2011
Modified Sep 20, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 20, 2011
Modified Sep 20, 2011
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[Update below] Things are just falling all over New York this morning. First a building collapses onto a city bus and then an elevator in Times Square goes and unexpectedly drops three floors! About ten minutes after the Harlem building toppled, at about 9:37 a.m., an elevator in the Paramount Building in Times Square tumbled down three stories out of the blue.
Luckily the FDNY got to the scene quickly. They tell us they transported one 46-year-old male to Bellevue with neck and back injuries. Why the elevator dropped is now being investigated. From city records, it does't appear that the building's elevators have had a history of problems.
And on the bright side, it could have been much worse.
Update: Well, the Paramount's elevators might not have a history of problems as far as the DOB is concerned, but the story is different when you talk to the workers in the building. One writes in to tell us:
I read your article about the elevator drop in the Paramount Building, which is where I work. I wanted to just note that there actually is a history of problems with these elevators. In fact, this same thing happened to one of my co-workers just a couple of weeks ago, except his elevator car only fell 2 and a half stories. He sprained is ankle and was hospitalized for a couple of days. Just thought you should know. Maybe some bad press will get the building owners to actually do something about the death traps that we ride every day....The drops aren't the only problem, they also constantly get stuck. I myself got stuck once, and had to climb out of the elevator halfway between floors.
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