Elevator Outages At 59-Story Financial District Tower Leaves Residents In 'High-Rise Hell'

For the last four months, the elevators at 20 Exchange Place in the Financial District have been regularly grinding to a halt, turning the luxury building into what some residents are calling “high-rise hell."

Elevators serving apartments above the 15th floor of the 59-story building, which is owned by DTH Capital, have been stopping for hours at a time with regularity since November, The New York Times reports. The stoppages are unpredictable and have wreaked havoc on the daily lives of the hundreds of residents who live there, according to 12 residents who spoke to the Times.

DTH Capital blames New York's energy giant, Consolidated Edison, and said it is the energy company's responsibility to fix the problems with the eight affected elevators, which the owner claims are being impacted by electrical surges from equipment.

The company said it has brought in elevator, electrical and engineering specialists to assess the issue, but they cannot get to the bottom of it without full support from ConEd. A ConEd spokesperson told the Times it has found no issues with the energy service to the building.

In the meantime, residents of the upper floors said they are faced with daunting climbs to get into their units, leaving many to feel trapped at home. Erin Campbell, a nurse who lives in the building, told the Times she worries about her neighbors who might need medical assistance. She said she recently had to climb the stairs to her 48th-floor unit after a 12-hour shift.

“I just started crying,” she told the newspaper. “I’m a young, in-shape person, so I can do it. But it’s miserable.”

Previously known as the City Bank-Farmers Trust Building, the landmark property opened to serve as its namesake's headquarters in 1931. It was converted to luxury residences after DTH acquired the building for $152M in 2014, according to The Real Deal, and now has 750 apartments. A one-bedroom is asking $4,805 per month, according to StreetEasy. It is certainly not the only luxury residential building in the city facing maintenance problems.

Last year, the condo board at 432 Park Ave. hit Macklowe Properties and CIM Group, which co-developed the supertall condo tower, with a $125M lawsuit, arguing “sponsor malfeasance” has left owners dealing with a slew of problems, including apartment floods, pests and loud noise.