CB1 Committee Asks What's Up with Bridge Elevator

by Barry Owens

Angry that the elevator of the Liberty Street pedestrian bridge works only sporadically, Community Board 1's Battery Park City Committee wanted to know why. On March 2, an executive from Brookfield Properties, owners of the World Financial Center and the operators of the bridge and elevator, came before the committee. But first, he did a little research.

		"I'm happy to say that it's operating today. I checked," said Daniel Kindbergh, a Brookfield senior vice president. The elevator was installed two years ago as part of the bridge's reconstruction following the terrorist attack. Since then, it has frequently been grounded. Additionally, it's been the target of frequent criticism from the Battery Park City Committee-especially one member, Barry Skolnick. He has complained to Brookfield, to the Borough President's office, to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., to the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, to reporters, even to the guards who tend to the gated and padlocked lift. "Security guards were getting complaints from their management that I was asking too many questions," Skolnick said.
"It was never meant to be anything more than a temporary measure," Kindbergh told the committee. "We never thought the lift would be here for three years." Kindbergh said the hydraulic powered lift-not much bigger than a phone booth -wouldn't hold up to constant use. "We recognized right away it wasn't an elevator that would be serviceable. We didn't think it had long term-capability." Blaming the elevator's frequent malfunction on cold weather, Kindbergh said the fluids in the hydraulic-powered elevator freeze in the winter and jam the works. For those reasons, Kindbergh said, the elevator's use was restricted. "Our worry at the time was that someone would get stuck in it," he said. Beginning this month, however, the elevator will be open to anyone who needs or wants to use it. "We'll see how long it goes," Kindbergh said. When the elevator is out of service, those unable to climb the 42 steps to the top of the bridge are forced to use the Rector Street bridge. "It frustrates me terribly. It makes me very, very angry. It's been there for two and a half years and nobody is making sure that it's accessible to the handicap," committee member Linda Belfer said. Belfer, recently confined to a wheelchair, said she has avoided the bridge altogether. "I have no way of knowing if the elevator is going to work when I get across," she said. While Brookfield maintains the bridge and lift, the bridge is owned by the Battery Park City Authority and the property it lands on near the WTC site is owned by the Port Authority. Kindbergh said there are plans by the Port Authority to install a permanent and full-size elevator at Vesey Street --which Brookfield also maintains--but he was doubtful a replacement at Liberty Street was forthcoming. "I just worry that were not going to get results unless we get both Brookfield and the Port Authority together in this room," committee member Julie Menin said. . As for Skolnick, he was pleased Brookfield had addressed some of his concerns with the elevator, but remained skeptical that any long-term solutions were on the horizon. "It's a first step," Skolnick told a reporter after the meeting. "But first steps can sometimes not lead to anything."