Latest news with #elevator
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Meet one of the last elevator operators in NYC: ‘It feels good to know I have a rare job'
Nearly every New Yorker has to push a button and often wait some time for their automated elevator to arrive. Tony Sciallia, meanwhile, spends his days in a crisp gray uniform, pulling shut an accordion gate and manually transporting riders up and down on one of Manhattan's last remaining hand-operated elevators. He levels the cab with the precision of a surgeon, nods to the first tenant of the day and begins a shift that feels more like a ritual than a routine. At the 863 Park Ave. co-op near East 77th Street, where Sciallia, 44, has worked for a quarter century, progress moves slower — and that's exactly how the residents like it. 'It feels good to know I have a rare job,' he told The Post. 'There's that saying: anybody could do my job. But there's only one of them. And that's how you have to look at it.' Manual elevator operators were once the lifeblood of vertical living in New York City. In the mid-20th century, the census counted more than 90,000 elevator operators nationwide. But after the 1945 citywide elevator strike — when 15,000 operators brought New York to a halt — technological innovation and changing attitudes accelerated their decline. Today, the role is all but extinct. The city Department of Buildings estimates only about 50 hand-operated elevators remain across Manhattan, including a few in Brooklyn, mostly in older co-ops and historic hotels. In an age of automation, a human behind the wheel is a charming anachronism. 'We don't have computer systems. Just us,' he said. Sciallia's workplace overall is a charming remnant of the old New York. The 1908 building, designed by Pollard & Steinam in a restrained Beaux-Arts style, boasts limestone detailing and 23 units. It also has one home currently for sale — a three-bedroom with beamed ceilings and a renovated kitchen asking $2.5 million, represented by Compass — not to mention historically little turnover. 'It's a very cool feel. That old-world feel,' said Sciallia. 'It's a different era for them. They come from that era. They're very prim and proper,' he said of the homeowners who call the building their home, many of whom have done so for more than a half century. Sciallia, from The Bronx, was a student at SUNY Westchester Community College when he landed the job for the summer. 'A friend of mine recommended me … so I could make some extra money on the side. And it was perfect. I fit right in.' Decades later, he still takes the 5 a.m. train from Cortlandt Manor in Westchester, stops at Dunkin' Donuts for his usual — hot coffee, light cream and sugar — and transforms from commuter to concierge. He's only the fourth person to operate this elevator in more than a century. 'The guy I took his place [from] was there for 35 years. And the guy before that was there for 35 or 36 years, so he started in the 1950s,' Sciallia said. By 7:20 a.m., the co-op's lobby buzzes with dog walkers, schoolkids and residents heading to the office. And there's only one man to bring them around. 'I am the first one at the door in the morning,' he said. 'We do all the dry cleans, the pickups, the drop-offs we bring upstairs, we do the mail. We wear all the hats.' The elevator itself is a relic of another era — wood-paneled, brass-accented and manually operated by a rotary lever. It requires finesse. 'You have to level it yourself,' Sciallia said. 'There's a trick. The elevator does whatever you want it to do. That is the trick. So if you're playing around with it, messing around with it, the elevator will mess around.' When Sciallia recently began training newcomers (believe it: the building is in the process of hiring a new elevator operator) he gives them three tries to land it smoothly. 'You don't want the elevator to keep going up and down. Three shots — you're good,' he added. Over the years, Sciallia has seen more than what many see in a lifetime: blackouts, the onset of technology making online-order parcels arrive in mass amounts, as well as celebrity sightings. Brooke Shields once visited regularly to see a friend, always with ice cream in hand. But it's the relationships, not the surprises, that make the job meaningful. 'That is 2 or 3 minutes you have to build a relationship,' he said of passengers riding with him. 'You're not just an elevator operator. You play the psychiatrist role. You hear their issues, problems … you can read it on their faces.' Sciallia has watched children grow up, from stroller rides to driver's licenses. He's been the first person residents see in the morning, wishes them safe travels before they jet to the Hamptons and sometimes the last when they leave for good. 'There was an older lady, in her 80s, they wanted to put her in a home,' he said. 'And she goes, 'Tony, I don't want to go.' She just started crying and said 'I can't believe this will be my last time in the elevator.'' Sciallia added. 'She passed away like a year later.' Inside the cab, trust is currency. 'There are [residents] that have been there for over 50 years,' Sciallia added. 'You have to care about the people, their problems, their successes. A robot … won't care. We care.' It's a sentiment echoed by the building's residents, who have supported Sciallia through personal losses with letters and big bouquet of flowers when his parents passed away over the last few years. 'That was the biggest act of kindness,' he said. And as modernization goes, Sciallia knows the day will come that the lever is replaced by a button. 'I don't know how much longer I have,' he said. 'But when the time comes … I will miss the people the most. Nothing lasts forever.'
CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
B.C. municipality pushes for European-style elevators to cut costs, boost accessibility
A Vancouver Island municipality is pushing the province to make changes to its elevator rules in a bid to make homes more accessible and affordable. The District of Saanich recently voted unanimously to send a resolution to the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM), calling on the province to "legalize" smaller and less expensive European-style elevators in low- and mid-rise buildings in which an elevator would otherwise not be installed. Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, who brought the motion forward, says the idea stemmed from a chance conversation over coffee. "I was talking to some residents…and one of them just casually brought up European elevator standards," he said. "It's one of at a coffee shop, leading to potentially a policy that might make housing a little more affordable and a little more accessible." A 2024 report from the Center for Building in North America, which Phelps Bondaroff's motion cites, found elevator prices in Canada and the U.S. are three times higher than in comparable buildings in Europe. According to the report, Canada has just four elevators per 1,000 people, compared to 15 in South Korea and more than 20 in countries like Spain and Greece. Currently, B.C. abides by the Canadian Standards Association's B44 guide which requires large elevator cabins that can accommodate a stretcher. In practice, they are costly, says Phelps Bondaroff, and that means most builders avoid including elevators in walk-up townhouses or small apartment buildings. According to the motion, the 2024 B.C. Building Code requires elevators in all residential buildings, although large one- and two-storey buildings and small buildings with three storeys or fewer are exempt. "In [these] low- and mid-rise buildings, it isn't a choice between oversized, overbuilt American elevators versus smaller, cost-effective ones," Phelps Bondaroff said. "It's a choice between European elevators or no elevator at all." "If we want seniors, parents with strollers, and people with accessibility needs to access homes in walk-ups and smaller apartments, we need more options." WATCH | How smaller elevators could increase accessibility: Saanich calls for building code changes in B.C. to allow smaller, cheaper elevators 1 day ago Duration 2:27 A B.C. municipality is calling for changes to the province's building code to allow smaller and more affordable elevators. The District of Saanich says it's a key step toward improving accessibility for those dealing with mobility challenges. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, the move is being welcomed by industry experts and accessibility advocates. The lack of affordable elevator options has real-world consequences for people with mobility challenges, says accessibility advocate Susan Bains. "When I used to live in a condo with 24 units, there was only one elevator," Bains said. "If it was down for maintenance, you'd be waiting…you're really just relying on one elevator." Bains hopes that allowing more compact and affordable elevators will encourage developers to include them even in buildings where they aren't currently required by code. CBC News has reported on the impacts of broken elevators across Canada over the past decade, and heard stories from seniors and people with disabilities who've been largely stuck in their apartments for weeks or months while their building's sole elevator was down. Some told of how they had to wait for others to carry them up the stairs or take 10-minute breaks between each flight. One advocate described that some residents were left to crawl down the stairs of their multi-storey building, while staff at a care home feared getting burned while hauling hot food upstairs to residents. Cheaper maintenance Sam Holland, a director of the housing advocacy group Homes for Living, said maintaining European-style elevators costs less. "European elevators aren't just cheaper to install, they are also more affordable to maintain over time," he said in a statement. "That's because they use globally standardized parts that are easier to source and service, unlike the expensive and often delayed components we rely on in North America." Mark Bernhardt, former president of the Canadian Home Builders Association of B.C., supports the idea of smaller elevators. He says in one recent low-rise rental project, installing a single elevator cost $135,000. "That's one of the biggest line items in the whole building," he said. "So if there is anything we can do to shave that down, that is something that home builders absolutely support." Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the province is open to the idea. "We in B.C. have been open…when it comes to changes to building code…to allow for more affordability as well as more convenience," he said. "[This proposal] may actually address cost pressures that we are seeing…and [it] may also help us diversify away from the U.S., which I think is needed given the challenges we have now," he said, referring to President Donald Trump's trade war. If adopted at the UBCM convention, the resolution would become part of the organization's formal lobbying effort to the province. Kahlon says the province would then consider public consultation on the matter and could bring the discussion to a national level. "But when something makes sense in B.C, we're also prepared to go forward alone," he said.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Patients moved, elevators fail amid back-to-back incidents at aging Montreal hospital
A power outage left several elevators out of service at the centre of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital on Monday, affecting both patients and staff. The latest incident at the beleaguered, aging hospital is yet another example of a facility in desperate need of renovations, according to pulmonologist Dr. Marc Brosseau. 'We've had recurring problems with the elevators since the spring. I believe in relation to the power, I heard that a significant number of elevators were out of service, which caused major delays in transporting patients and in visits from their families in the tower. It's a 10-storey tower, so having several elevators out always has an impact,' explained Brosseau. The CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal said the neighbourhood outage was not related to construction work or the condition of the building. In a statement, the CIUSSS said that the Montreal fire department requested an emergency power cut from Hydro-Québec. Clara Meagher from the CIUSSS added that during the outage, generators maintained power in critical areas. 'In such situations, the mitigation plan involves slowing down certain activities, particularly imaging. This is the case in all hospitals across Quebec. We are doing the same with the elevators, keeping only the minimum number necessary for emergency transport of patients,' Meagher said. Water leak the previous day Just 24 hours before the power outage, a water leak forced patients in the intensive care unit to be moved to another area within the hospital in order for emergency repairs to be carried out, the CIUSSS confirmed. According to Brosseau, the leak occurred in the coronary intensive care unit, where patients with serious heart conditions are treated. He said the leak originated from the ceiling, which then flooded part of the unit. 'Those recurring issues have an impact on morale and staff retention, on recruitment. We've had issues with the nursing shortage, especially on the night shift and this intensive care unit. This does not help,' Brosseau said. 'I mean, it's not normal to have these recurrent water leaks from the ceiling in a modern hospital. I think the emphasis is that the reconstruction has to go as quickly as possible, and Maisonneuve Rosemont would need some interim work to be done.'
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
McDonald County Historical Society Museum celebrates re-opening
PINEVILLE, Mo. — The McDonald County Historical Society Museum in Pineville celebrated its grand re-opening with a ribbon-cutting this morning. The public got a look at some big changes for the 2025 season. A new, $200,000 elevator was installed over the December to May off-season, opening up the second-floor courtroom and classroom to visitors who aren't able to use the stairs. Historical Society members tell us it's a game changer. 'There'd be a whole family would come in, but one or two members may not be able to make it to the second floor. And so it was fun to talk to them while we were downstairs. But providing access to everyone so that everyone can make it up here to the second floor and learn a little bit more about the history of the county to remember some of the veterans who served from the county. I think that's huge,' said Nick Graves, McDonald County Historical Society Board Chair. 'This is a very special day for us, and we're so happy that we're going to be able to show it off now to the rest of the community and our visitors who come,' said Robin Chapman, McDonald County Historical Society President. Alongside the new elevator, the museum also renovated its displays. Doors will be open from 10 to 2 every Saturday until the Christmas parade in December. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Was Jim Cramer Right About Otis Worldwide Corporation (OTIS)?
We recently published a list of In this article, we are going to take a look at where Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. Back in 2024, on May 15, Mad Money's Jim Cramer discussed how certain spin-offs quietly outperformed, praising Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS) for thriving as a service-heavy elevator company even amid macroeconomic softness. 'Otis Worldwide's up 121% since the breakup — thank you, Judy Marks — gives you 134% total return including dividends. The elevator business is now worth nearly $40 billion all on its own. Look, a lot of people think of Otis as a traditional movement play — cyclical, hostage to new construction — but in reality the company gets the vast bulk of its money from servicing and repairing existing elevators, which is why even though China's soft, you still got to repair them.' A technician in a safety harness inspecting a passenger elevator in a modern office building. Despite Cramer's praise, this one barely moved, up just 2.41%, making his enthusiasm feel a bit overstated. Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS) continues to benefit from its global elevator servicing operations which provide resilient, recurring revenue. Overall, OTIS ranks 4th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of OTIS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than OTIS and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
