NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The mystery as to how a housekeeper got stuck in an elevator in an Upper East Side townhouse last weekend may be solved, thanks to the New York City Department of Buildings, which sent elevator inspectors to the home on Wednesday.
"Our preliminary investigation determined that the elevator hoist motor had burned out and failed, causing the elevator to become stuck between two floors," the DOB said in a statement Thursday. "We found that there was an emergency phone in the elevator, but it was not working at the time of the inspection."
Because of its findings, the DOB issued a ceasse-use order for the elevator, and issued three violations to the owner of the home, an investment banker from Arkansas. The violations are failure to properly maintain the device, damaged hoistway door and defective hoist motor and communications device inoperative, machine brake maintenance tag missing, and other defects.
These violations carry with them a total maximum penalty of up to $60,000.
In order to remove the cease-use order from the elevator, the owner must fix all of the violating conditions and request a re-inspection from the DOB.
The DOB said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, and it may issue additional enforcement actions as a result.
