DOB Elevator Report Spills the Ups & Downs in the Big Apple

DOB Elevator Report Spills the Ups & Downs in the Big Apple

84,000! New York City is home to over 84,000 elevators. NYC has more elevators than any other city in North America. Citywide Elevator Consulting offers top notch elevator and escalator solutions unmatched throughout the entire elevator industry. With the abundance of elevators found in New York alone, Citywide specializes in a full range of services for all types of vertical transportation. These services include new construction and modernization of major hotels, universities, government facilities, commercial and residential buildings and retail locations. As vertical transportation continues to take over New York, Citywide‘s elevator consulting services are extremely beneficial and necessary for many of these buildings. The Department of Building’s 2017 Elevator Report offers insight into the city’s elevators count, history, and safety. 

Here is a little background information on New York City elevators. It was over 160 years ago that elevators began popping up throughout the city. With buildings expanding vertically, moving from floor to floor became a challenge.  In 1830 steam-powered lifts were used for cargo but were not considered safe for people. Luckily, in 1852 Elisha Otis introduced a safety device that forever changed the elevator industry. This device aided elevator cabs in the event of a mechanical fail. His demonstration at the 1854 Exhibition of The Industry of All Nations impressed spectators. On March 23, 1857 Eder V. Haugwout installed the first passenger elevator. Courtesy of Otis Elevator Company, the elevator was installed in Haughwout’s department store located at 490 Broadway. The elevator traveled a whopping 40 feet per minute. Today the fastest elevator travels at a speed of 1700-foot-per-minute!

The Department of Building’s Elevator Unit supports the operational safety and lawful use of all elevator systems throughout New York’s five boroughs. Below are of few statistics provided by the DOB!
* The Elevator Unit supports over 84,000 elevator devices in the city.
* Of that number, there are 63,000 passenger elevators. This number surpasses the cities of Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami, and Los Angeles combined!
* In New York City, there is one active passenger elevator for every 139 users.
* Passenger elevators in New York make over 35 million trips per day.
* The average rise for a passenger elevator in NYC is about 40 feet.
* According to research conducted by the National Elevator Industry Inc., in America, the typical elevator passenger takes about four elevator trips per day.
* In 2017 the DOB issued over 4,000 violations for elevator- related complaints just in New York.