NYC DOB Recognizes Elevator and Escalator Safety Awareness Week

Amid a recent spike in elevator and escalator accidents, the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) is marking Elevator and Escalator Safety Awareness Week, November 13-17, by sharing tips on how to stay safe on vertical-transportation (VT) equipment. There are approximately 70,000 passenger elevators and more than 2,800 escalators in DOB’s jurisdiction that safely complete an estimated 1 billion rides annually, “so New Yorkers are already well-acquainted with the gentle hum and vertical pull that accompanies their regular use throughout our vertical city.” DOB data shows that its Elevator Unit responded to a total of 100 accidents so far in 2023, up from 76 similar incidents in 2022 and 50 in 2021. The majority of incidents were minor and involved passengers slipping and falling on escalators. Fatalities are “exceptionally rare for in-service” VT equipment. Over the past several years, every fatality involved an elevator company employee working on an out-of-service unit. There have been zero passenger and mechanic fatalities so far this year. Despite the “troubling increase” in incidents, “the good news is that many of these incidents can be avoided by following simple, common-sense safety practices,” DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo said.