The 43 subway elevators operated by private companies were out of service more often than the systemwide rate between January and June 2018.

The privately operated Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway elevator

The privately operated Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway elevator was the worst-performing in the entire system over the first six months of 2018, according to transit advocates. Photo Credit: Vincent Barone

By Vincent Barone

vin.barone@amny.com  @vinbarone

Updated November 12, 2018 7:26 PM

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Private real estate companies responsible for keeping elevators functioning in some of the city’s swanky luxury condos and venues are failing to do the same for everyday subway riders, advocates say.

In exchange for building concessions from the city, developers will occasionally take legal responsibility for maintaining and operating nearby MTA subway station elevators. Advocates on Monday called out eight of those private companies for their stewardship of nine of those elevators that rank among the worst in the subway system. One privately maintained elevator at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station was in service and functioning just 52 percent of the time during the first half of 2018, for example.

“That’s barely better than a coin toss,” said Colin Wright, an advocacy associate at the nonprofit TransitCenter. “It was out for really a disgusting 88 days in the first half of the year.”

The 43 privately maintained elevators in the subway system were out of service more often when compared to the average MTA elevator between January and June of this year. Private-sector elevators maintained a 92.33 percent availability compared to all MTA elevators that maintained a 96.4 percent availability, according to MTA data crunched by TransitCenter.

The Barclays elevator, maintained by BSE Global, which manages the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets and New York Islanders, was the worst-performing elevator in the entire subway system during that time period.

“I’m sure the elevators to the private boxes in the Barclays arena aren’t broken half the time,” Wright continued.

A spokesperson for Barclays Center said the elevator’s manufacturer had gone out of business, making it difficult to find original parts.

“We are well aware of the elevator’s operational issues and are frustrated that this is not resolved,” said the spokesperson in a statement. “We are working diligently to correct the problem by bringing in a new operator that will overhaul the parts and service it.”

本文标签：Subway elevators