ALBANY - Elevators at the Empire State Plaza went unrepaired for months despite 32 maintenance deficiencies, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The audit prompted the Office of General Services (OGS) to assign a new director and deputy director of plaza operations to properly oversee elevator maintenance.

“Safety is of the utmost importance to the thousands of New Yorkers who rely on Plaza elevators and escalators every day,” DiNapoli said. “It’s up to OGS to make sure that their contractors do timely repairs to ensure public safety.”

The audit was one of two elevator maintenance reports released by DiNapoli as part of his statewide reviews of $21.5 million in elevator maintenance contracts.

The Comptroller’s audit found that OGS failed to charge the Schindler Elevator Corporation more than $200,000 in liquidated damages for its failure to repair 32 maintenance deficiencies at the Plaza for at least five months, which was a breach of Schindler’s $2.5 million contract.

DiNapoli’s auditors uncovered the safety lapses in a review of six months of equipment maintenance services at the plaza. Auditors concluded that the plaza facilities manager lacked “the knowledge, skills or ability to carry out” his responsibilities of ensuring that Schindler complied with its contract, increasing the risks for elevator and escalator riders and possibly boosting the likelihood of future repairs.

Schindler maintains elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters and other such equipment in state-operated buildings in the Albany area, including the plaza and Executive Mansion.

In addition, the audit found that:

• OGS allowed Schindler to keep its liability insurance at $2 million per occurrence, while the contract requires $5 million per occurrence.
• OGS paid Schindler nearly $7,000 for 24 preventive maintenance checks that Schindler may not have performed.