Elevator That Killed Young & Rubicam Executive Had Dodgy Safety Protocols, City Confirms

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:34:48 -0400

The city Department of Buildings and the Department of Investigation announced the findings today from their investigation into the deadly 2011 elevator accident at 285 Madison Avenue that killed Young & Rubicam executive Suzanne Hart in rather horrific fashion, and both agencies confirmed that maintenance workers failed to repair the elevator up to city safety standards days prior to the incident.

Elevator victim Suzanne Hart (courtesy of Facebook)

Both the DOI and the DOB interviewed interviewed employees from Transel Elevator, Inc., the company that worked on several elevators in the building, and reviewed video footage of the lobby and the 12th floor of 285 Madison Avenue to confirm that the elevator was indeed not very safe at all:

"• Witness testimony and other evidence support the finding of a forensic examination that the safety circuit was bypassed on elevator 9, the one involved in the fatality, allowing the elevator to accelerate upwards with its doors open.

• Workers from Transel Elevator failed to follow basic safety procedures before the incident, such as placing caution tape across the elevator’s door jamb, and notifying DOB to inspect the elevators before putting them back in service, as required by the New York City Building Code."

On the morning of the December 14, 2011 accident, witnesses told both agencies that an elevator mechanic had used a "jumper" wire to bypass certain safety circuits so that it could be used during the busy morning rush. "Jumper" wires are commonly used during elevator maintenance and repairs, the DOB said, but have to be removed once the elevator is back in operation.

Ms. Hart, a Director of New Business Content and Experience at Young & Rubicam, was entering elevator 9 when the elevator doors suddenly shut on her leg, a Fire Department official said at the time. The elevator shot upwards with Ms. Hart still trapped in the elevator door, getting pinned between the first and second floors, with Ms. Hart's body apparently being the one thing that stopped the elevator's momentum.

Ms. Hart, 41, was declared dead at the scene.

Transel Elevator owner John Fichera had his "Private Elevator Agency Director's" license suspended by the DOB today, and the agency will seek to revoke it at an administrative hearing, it said in a press release today. Transel Elevator is forbidden from performing any elevator upgrades or inspections until a new license holder has been appointed.

In addition, the company was already slapped with 23 violations that carry a penalty of at least $117,000.

"The investigation starkly showed elevator safety protocols were ignored," said DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn. "These findings are a caution to all licensed building professionals in the City, especially those in the elevator industry," she added.

The DOI and The DOB have shared their investigative findings with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr., both agencies announced in their press release.

Last year, Young & Rubicam, a longtime tenant at 285 Madison Avenue, committed itself to 340,000 square feet of space at 3 Columbus Circle.

drosen@observer.com

City D.O.I. Announces Arrest of City Buildings Official

Azi Paybarah — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:17:19 -0400

The city Department of Investigations just announced the arrest of the chief of cranes and derricks from the city's Department of Buildings on felony corruption charges. It is Friday afternoon.

Here's the statement:

DOI ARRESTS ASSISTANT CHIEF OF CRANES AND DERRICKS OF CITY'S BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT ON CORRUPTION CHARGES
-- 26-year veteran inspector is charged with receiving bribes from a crane company, falsifying mobile crane inspection reports, and tampering with licensing exams --

ROSE GILL HEARN, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation ("DOI"), announced today that a DOI investigation has resulted in the arrest of JAMES DELAYO, an Assistant Chief Inspector with the New York City Department of Buildings ("DOB"), Division of Cranes and Derricks, on felony corruption charges. DELAYO is charged with collecting thousands of dollars in bribes over the past eight years from a crane and equipment company for falsely reporting that the company's mobile cranes had been inspected and that its crane operators had taken and passed required practical examinations, when in fact no such inspections or practical examinations were conducted, and for providing the company with advance copies of the written examinations that would-be crane operators must pass to qualify for City licenses. This case is being prosecuted by the Office of New York County District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau.

DELAYO, 60, a Bronx resident, has worked for DOB since 1982; his current salary is $74,224. The criminal charges he faces will be filed by the District Attorney's Office and will be available shortly.
DELAYO faces suspension from his job.

Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said, "DOI's investigation revealed the profoundly disturbing and sobering realization that a senior inspector responsible for ensuring that cranes operating in New York City are in proper condition and are operated by qualified individuals is charged with selling out his own integrity in a way that compromised public safety, leaving it in the hands of the individuals who paid him bribes, and rendered his inspectional job meaningless. DOI, working closely with District Attorney Morgenthau, is vigorously pursuing this continuing corruption investigation."

DOI's investigation found, among other things, that DELAYO took money for signing-off on mobile crane inspections he did not perform, providing in advance the questions and answers for one or more "Class C" Hoisting Machine Operator exams to a crane company, and signing-off on at least one practical exam for a crane operator who did not take the exam.

To date there is no evidence in this investigation that the activity had anything to do with the crane collapses on E. 51st and E. 91st Streets.

This investigation was conducted by DOI's Office of the Inspector General for DOB.

Arrest charges and criminal complaints are merely accusations.
Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Get the worms out of the Big Apple. To report someone ripping off the City, call DOI at (212) 825-5959.

Observer » Rose Gill Hearn

Elevator That Killed Young & Rubicam Executive Had Dodgy Safety Protocols, City Confirms

City D.O.I. Announces Arrest of City Buildings Official