Elevator in UWS 10-story building out of commission for months

UWS 10-story building will be lacking elevator service for months

An elevator outage in a 10-story building in the Upper West Side could last months. FOX 5 NY's Hayley Fixler has the details.

UPPER WEST SIDE - A 10-story building in the Upper West Side will be lacking elevator service for months.

Lack of transparency?

What we know:

The Grace Apartments on West 104th Street, a building owned by a religious social services organization, will be operating without its only elevator until mid-November, in an effort to "modernize" and update it.

Residents told FOX 5 NY's Hayley Fixler that they were notified in July. A memo on the first floor provides a rough timeline for the project and notes that both the fire and police departments have been notified in case of emergency.

The building has several rent-controlled units, and many of the residents are either elderly or disabled.

"After you get to the fifth floor, it's hard to climb for me," one resident told Fixler. "I just had a heart attack."

Dig deeper:

Residents also explained to Fixler that they're struggling to get clear answers from either the superintendent or the management company.

"I'm still waiting for the… Tenant Protection Plan, that by law you're supposed to get," another resident told her. "I've not yet seen it."

A Tenant Protection Plan is a document that outlines the steps the contractor and building owner will take to protect tenants when construction or renovation happens while tenants are living in a building.

Fixler checked the Department of Buildings' online portal for any such documents, but it appears one has not been filed yet.

Getting in touch with either the superintendent or management company also proved unsuccessful.