Curtis Cost has been stuck inside his fourth-floor apartment for about a month, and he\u2019s still not sure when he\u2019ll be able to leave.<\/p>\n
Cost, 67, uses a motorized wheelchair to move around and depends on the elevator in his apartment building on Perry Avenue in the Norwood section of the Bronx. But the elevator is broken, leaving him stranded this holiday season.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aI’m confined like a prisoner, and the scariest thing is I don\u2019t know when this is going to end,\u201d Cost said. \u201cI\u2019m going to be stuck here for Christmas. I can\u2019t even do any family gatherings.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said previous outages have also lasted weeks and the repairs don\u2019t last long. More New Yorkers may be in a similar bind.<\/p>\n
A Gothamist analysis finds residents in the five boroughs have made nearly 22,000 elevator-related complaints to the city\u2019s 311 system so far this year \u2014 up from around 17,000 in 2021.<\/p>\n
And the Bronx, where Cost lives, has by far the highest number of reported problems. The borough accounts for around 42% of all elevator-related complaints, and 13 of the 15 buildings with the most reports over the past three years.<\/p>\n
For many people, a busted lift can be an annoyance. But for Cost and others with disabilities, elevators are essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a huge problem,\u201d said Center for Independence of the Disabled New York Executive Director Sharon McLennon Wier. \u201cI wish I could say I have an easy fix, [but] there isn’t a quick remedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLennon Wier said most of the calls the organization gets are about housing problems, and often about elevators specifically.<\/p>\n
She said landlords have a responsibility to maintain equipment so elevators don\u2019t break down. And she said owners should repair them immediately if they do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are \u200apaying rent, you are paying for maintenance essentially,\u201d McLennon Wier said.<\/p>\n
Department of Buildings data shows that while elevator complaints have soared by thousands since the 2021 fiscal year, the number of addresses where complaints have been made actually decreased citywide in the 2025 fiscal year, which ended in June.<\/p>\n
But in the Bronx, the number of buildings subject to at least one complaint rose by about 500 during that span.<\/p>\n
City records show the elevator is a chronic problem at the Perry Avenue building where Cost lives. Earlier this month, a city building inspector issued a violation for the broken lift \u2014 the fifth time the Department of Buildings has penalized the landlord for elevator outages at the 50-unit complex this year alone.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Cost\u2019s landlord, Ved Parkash, and his company, Parkash Management, declined to be quoted by name but said in a written statement that the repair job is taking longer than expected and that mechanics hired to fix the elevator encountered unexpected problems.<\/p>\n
Natasha Kersey, a spokesperson for the city\u2019s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said Parkash\u2019s company is waiting for a new part to ensure the elevator doesn\u2019t move until the door is fully closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re deeply sorry for the disruption residents are experiencing, especially during the holiday season for many New Yorkers, and we recognize the real hardship this creates for tenants when an elevator is out of service,\u201d Kersey said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Parkash was ranked number one on the public advocate\u2019s annual list of worst landlords in 2015, and problems continue to mount at buildings owned by his companies \u2014 including fires and slow renovations<\/a> that displace tenants.<\/p>\n But even for the most diligent property owners, elevator repairs can be a financial and logistical challenge, said Brendan Mitchell, real estate director at the Bronx-based University Neighborhood Housing Program.<\/p>\n Mitchell\u2019s organization, known as UNHP, runs over two dozen apartment buildings in the Bronx, with rents capped for low- and middle-income tenants. He said replacing an elevator can run up to $300,000, and repair companies often spend over a week locating a necessary part.<\/p>\n For some owners, he said, \u201cthe cost of the repair can be prohibitive.\u201d<\/p>\n Elevators break down in all kinds of buildings, including luxury high-rises<\/a> housing affluent tenants in Lower Manhattan<\/a> and even on Billionaires\u2019 Row in Midtown.<\/a><\/p>\n But outages in older, rent-stabilized apartment buildings in the Bronx touch on a larger debate around housing policy, Mitchell said.<\/p>\n Landlord lobbyists<\/a> and housing groups<\/a> have called on the city to establish a multi-billion-dollar bailout fund for owners in financial distress, allowing them to make loan payments and fund repairs. They say current laws prevent them from raising rent to a level that will match their expenses.<\/p>\n