Elevator Outages Result in Fine for Boston Housing Authority

Persistent elevator outages at a public housing complex in Boston have resulted in a US$400,000 fine for the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) from the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, outlets including WGBH report. The Ruth Lillian Barkley housing development dates from the 1950s and includes 11 multifamily apartment buildings that are up to 13 stories tall. Outages among the complex’s 15 elevators have persisted for years, severely hindering accessibility for disabled residents, advocates said. The state access board only issues fines in the “most egregious cases,” one advocate said, but BHA will be asked to pay only 1%, or US$3630, of the total fine. The board did not respond to questions about why only a fraction would need to be paid, but disability advocates said they heard board members say too high a fine could hinder repair efforts. A BHA spokesperson said the agency is investing US$10 million in modernizing the elevators at the development, and brought two modernized elevators online there in 2025.