Senator Dilan, Advocates Call on Passage of Elevator Safety Act

State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan today joined local leaders and elevator technicians outside the Espoir apartment building in Williamsburg to mark six months since an elevator failure in that building caused the death of Queens resident Eran Modan.

The group called for passage of the Elevator Safety Act (S.1945), state legislation sponsored by Senator Bonacic and supported by Senator Dilan, which would mandate licensing and training for elevator and escalator workers. Sponsors in the Senate by 42 members, Senator Dilan, Michael Halpin of Local 1 IUEC, and employees of the elevator maintenance contractor that services Espoir’s elevators called for the passage of the common sense measure this legislative session.

“It surprises people when I tell them that in New York, no licensing standard exists for people who, inspect, maintain, alter, or repair elevators. People are astonished when I tell them that 42 Senators, on both sides of the aisle, sponsor a bill to require a standard, and that the bill has failed to move. And it angers people when I tell them that every year since this bill was introduced, people have died as a result of a faulty elevator. Had this bill passed, and technicians were trained and certified as a result, we wouldn’t be here today memorializing Mr. Modan. It’s time the Elevator Safety Act become law,” said Senator Martin Malavé Dilan.

Mr. Modan’s death highlights a trend of deadly elevator failures as widespread as Tonawanda and Manhattan. The New York City Fire Department reported 160 percent rise in passengers needing rescue from failed elevators from 2009-2014. These incidents are often fatal. In the fourth quarter of 2015 alone, there were three elevator passenger deaths in New York.

“Eran Modan’s death is all the more heartbreaking for the knowledge that it was preventable,” said Michael Halpin, Organizer of Local 1 IUEC. “The New York State Legislature must pass the Elevator Safety Act and ensure our elevators are kept in safe condition by licensed professionals to avert deaths like Modan’s.”