Volume 58 | December 2023 | | | ELEVATOR WORLD New York is EW's free monthly newsletter focusing on vertical-transportation news in the Greater New York Region. Contact the EW Editorial Department to submit news or the EW Advertising Department to advertise and reach more than 5,000 subscribers in the New York area. | | | | AMTRAK'S PENN STATION ENTRANCE TRANSFORMATION INCLUDES VT | | | Amtrak hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony in November for the newly transformed Penn Station entrance at 7th Avenue and 32nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. Penn Station's busiest entrance, the revamped station is 50% wider and incorporates Americans with Disabilities-compliant vertical-transportation (VT) equipment including a new elevator provided by Brooklyn-based Precision Elevator and three new transit-grade escalators from KONE that replace the two original escalators linking passengers with the mezzanine level. The busy entrance is used by approximately 600,000 NJ Transit, Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak passengers daily. Kristof Okulewicz, president of Precision, part of the American Elevator Group family of companies, tells ELEVATOR WORLD the elevator system consists of one holeless, dual telescopic, Class A-loading passenger elevator with 4000-lb capacity traveling approximately 19 ft at 100 ft/min. It has one front stop/opening at the Plaza Level and another rear one at Level B. Key players on the project included Scott J. Benson, full credit for sales and project management; David Gelman, partial credit for assisting Benson during the initial stages and contract negotiations; Gregory S. Albertson, partial credit for mechanical contractor safety awareness and engineering contractor orientation; and Leon Feldman, full credit for field management. Suppliers included MCE: controller and battery lowering unit; Claddaugh Electronics: cloud monitoring; Canton Elevator: hydraulic elevator package — jack unit, power unit, sling, platform, rails and brackets, plumbing materials and oil line; Atlantic States Lubricants: hydraulic oil; Vantage/GAL: car and hoistway door equipment; A&D Entrances: cab and entrances; C.J. Anderson & Co.: car and hall fixtures, limit switches; and MEGA: conduits, wiring and traveling cables. | | | KONE provided the escalators and Precision Elevator, part of American Elevator Group, provided the elevator; image courtesy of Amtrak. | | New escalators are complemented by new, wider stairs; image courtesy of Amtrak. | | | | METRO ELEVATOR CELEBRATES SUCCESSFUL MODERNIZATION IN MIDTOWN | | | Earlier this winter, Metro Elevator, with locations serving NYC, New England, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and northern California, celebrated the successful completion of an elevator modernization project for the State University of New York College of Optometry on 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. Competed ahead of schedule, the project included installation of Torin TGL2A machines with MCE iControllers to replace "ancient" Otis 72 machines, Metro Elevator President Ryan Kraven says. The team also installed oversized car station pushbuttons that are easier for patients to see. Project leaders included Metro Elevator Vice President of Operations Matt McQuillen and Project Manager Winans A. Largacha. | | | "Ancient" Otis machines prior to modernization | | | New car station pushbuttons are easier to see. | | | | OTIS ELEVATOR SYSTEM FOR 47-STORY RESIDENTIAL TOWER RISING IN HELL'S KITCHEN | | | A crane from new crane operator U.S. Cranes is seen operating on-site at 550 Tenth Avenue; photo by Michael Young for New York YIMBY. | | Otis tells ELEVATOR WORLD it is providing four SkyRise® and two third-party hydraulic elevators at 550 Tenth Avenue, a 47-story residential tower rising in Hell's Kitchen following a fire and partial crane collapse in summer 2023. SkyRise is Otis' high-rise traction elevator model designed specifically for applications with more than 16 stops and heavy traffic. When New York YIMBY provided a construction update in October 2023, it observed the 520-ft-tall structure will yield 453 rental units, 9,000-ft2 of lower-level retail and more than 20,000-ft2 of amenities within 430,000 ft2. From an upper-level outdoor deck, residents will enjoy views of the Empire State Building, Hudson Yards and the Hudson River. With floor-to-ceiling windows, the tower was designed by Handel Architects and is being developed by Gotham Organization and Goldman Sachs Management JV. Completion is anticipated in June 2025. | | | | ESI CELEBRATES 50 YEARS, SHOWCASES NEW CONTROLLER | | | Elevator Systems LLC (ESI), based in Garden City, New York, celebrated its 50th anniversary on November 16 and debuted its updated ES2 controller at Villa Barone Manor in the Bronx. Approximately 100 guests attended the event, which included a fabulous cocktail hour. ESI CEO Amit Bansal addressed the crowd, and company founder Nat Alcamo Jr. provided a history of the company. Guests also watched a video about the 50-year journey and got to check out the updated ES2 controller, which boasts a touchscreen, an advanced landing system, up to 128 stops, car grouping that has increased to eight and higher speed capabilities of 100 ft/min. — reported by Matthew Jackson, EW Correspondent | | | (l-r) Amit Bansal and Nat Alcamo Jr. | | Attendees check out the updated ES2 controller. | | | | LOPEZ CELEBRATES 20 YEARS WITH TEI GROUP | | | Elizabeth "Liz" Lopez, executive assistant to TEI Group President Mark Gregorio, recently celebrated 20 years with TEI. At TEI, she has held executive coordinator and client service roles. Prior to TEI, Lopez worked at YouthStream Media Networks and Goldman Sachs. She holds a degree in business marketing from Pace University-Joseph I. Lubin School of Business in NYC. "It is not frequently that you can have a successful and productive working relationship for over 20 years and counting," Gregorio said. "I am so fortunate to have her along my side on TEI Group's fantastic journey!" | | | | | VDA HIRES ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT | | | VDA, Inc. (VDA) recently hired Tim Hind in the role of associate consultant. Hind has more than 20 years of experience in the vertical-transportation industry. Most recently, he was branch manager at TK Elevator where he was responsible for the Bronx, Westchester, Rockland and six northern New York state counties. Hind has also worked for Schindler and Otis in roles including senior project manager and director of Business Development. | | | | | OTIS PROVIDES FOUR GEN3 ELEVATORS FOR CONEY ISLAND PROPERTY | | | Coney Island Phase 2; image courtesy of S9 Architecture via New York YIMBY | | | Otis tells ELEVATOR WORLD it provided four Gen3TM traction elevators designed specifically for low- to mid-rise buildings at 2938 West 16th Street in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Designed by S9 Architecture and developed by BFC Partners, the 10-story building is also known as Coney Island Phase 2, New York YIMBY reported in November upon launch of the affordable housing lottery for 299 of the 376 residential units. In addition to residences, the property includes commercial space, 57 parking spaces and amenities such as a gym, a laundry room, a recreation room, outdoor areas and a rooftop terrace. | | | | UVG SPOTLIGHTS SIX-CAR MODERNIZATION AT HISTORIC "SILICON ALLEY" PROPERTY | | | Flooring matches that in the lobby. | A light strip runs up the back wall and across the ceiling | | United Vertical Group (UVG) recently spotlighted a six-car elevator modernization project it undertook with elevator contractor Nouveau Elevator and architect Gensler at the 12-story, 300,000-ft2 Cure.® "healthcare innovation campus" located in a historic building at 345 Park Avenue South on the edge of Kips Bay in Manhattan. A standard factory building designed by William H. Whittal and built in 1912, the property was acquired and redeveloped by Deerfield Management Co. to serve as a life sciences campus in NYC's "Silicon Alley." Matching the stone flooring in the lobby, elevator walls are outfitted with two separate cream taupe slabs in a honed finish supplied by Akdo. Each panel is wrapped in stainless steel and stacked vertically on the side walls. On the back walls are custom panel systems furnished and installed by Tangram that feature a lighted Cure. logo. Adjacent to the panel system is a light strip that runs up the back wall and across the ceiling. A nondirectional finished stainless-steel drop ceiling features four Inter-Lux Quantum lights. The splay wall, base, fronts, doors and reveals are finished in the same stainless steel. Awarded the contract in 2020, UVG observes the revamped property and the sleek, minimalist elevators are "sure to impress any visitor or tenant." | | | | MARLETTA STARTS NEW POSITION AS OTIS MODERNIZATION SALES EXECUTIVE | | | Joseph Marletta recently started a new position as modernization sales executive at Otis, covering Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties. Based in the NYC metropolitan area, Marletta joins Otis from TK Elevator, where his roles included elevator modernization sales executive and service/repair account executive. After earning degrees in finance and business administration/management from Pace University in New York and Flagler College in Florida, respectively, Marletta began his career as an intern at New York Life Insurance Co. | | | | | BRIEF POWER OUTAGE CAUSES ELEVATOR ENTRAPMENTS ACROSS CITY | | | A brief power outage caused by a high-voltage piece of electrical equipment short circuiting at a Con Edison substation in Brooklyn shortly before midnight on December 14 caused "serious issues," including entrapments, for elevator passengers citywide, CBS New York was among outlets to report. Con Edison President Matt Ketschke said up to 10 elevator rescues had to be performed, with elevators at Grand Central and Penn Station particularly affected. The New York City Fire Department released a security guard who was stuck in an elevator at a Brooklyn grocery store for approximately 1 h. Ketschke said such outages are "pretty infrequent events," and that "we actually have one of the most reliable electrical systems in the U.S." Even though power was out for only a fraction of a second, Ketschke suspects "nearly every single home across the five boroughs, as well as Long Island and Westchester County," was affected. | | | | IN MEMORIAM: RICHARD R. BENNET | | | | | Richard R. Bennet, an elevator inspector and owner of Independent Elevator Inspections in the Bronx, passed away unexpectedly on September 26 at age 62. A native of Flushing, Queens, and a resident of Mahopac, NY, Bennet was a member of Free and Accepted Masons, Yorktown Lodge Diamond Thistle #555. He enjoyed golf and fishing and was an avid New York Mets and New York Jets fan. Survivors include wife, Catherine; sons, Richard, Nick and Christopher; siblings, Williams, Nancy and Barbara; and two grandsons. "Richard was the most wonderful person you could have ever met, and he touched everyone's life in some way or another," his obituary read. "He was one-of-a-kind!" | | | | NEW YORK BUILD NO-COST REGISTRATION OPEN | | | | | Construction and design show New York Build will be held on February 13-14, 2024, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Registration is open, and no-cost tickets are limited. The award-winning show features more than 500 speakers across 14 conference tracks, including Architecture, Sustainability, Real Estate and the Future of Construction. American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Services workshops will be offered, and more than 400 exhibitors will showcase the latest services and products. New York Build is home to the U.S.'s largest gathering of Women in Construction and Diversity in Construction. The "Festival of Construction" will provide a variety of lively networking opportunities with DJs, musical performances, art displays, free professional headshots and prize giveaways. | | | TEI GROUP WELCOMES VP OF SALES AND MARKETING | | | TEI Group has announced the hire of Jeff Smith as vice president of Sales and Marketing. His first day with the TEI team was December 4. Smith brings more than two decades of experience in the vertical-transportation industry to his new role. Previously, he worked for Smartrise Engineering and TK Elevator (TKE). During his 20-year tenure at TKE, Smith held roles such as senior Sales manager, Manhattan, and director of New Installation Sales, northeast region. | | | | | YIMBY+ DEBUTS IN NEW YORK | | | New York YIMBY has announced the debut of YIMBY+, which offers pages on every new NYC development, as well as an interactive 3D map of all future developments coming to the city. YIMBY+'s "immersive and premium" experience integrates all the information contained on the website into a platform that is continuously updated to reflect the most up-to-date information about the future of NYC's cityscape and skyline. YIMBY+ is priced at US$40 per month or US$400 per year, and the existing YIMBY website and newsletter will remain free to access. | | | Image courtesy of New York YIMBY | | | | TOP CONDO SALES INCLUDE HUDSON YARDS, NOHO UNIT WITH DIRECT ELEVATOR ACCESS | | | In a roundup of Manhattan condo sales for the week ending December 15, CityRealty reported that the top sale recorded was US$16.5 million for a six-story property at 40 West 74th Street that houses up to three units at a Neo-Georgian limestone and brick mansion designed by Percy Giffin on the Upper West Side. The seller was Taconic Partners co-founder and co-CEO Charles Bendit. The source reported the week was a busy one for Hudson Yards, which saw units sell at 35 Hudson Yards and 15 Hudson Yards for US$13.67 million and US$9.9 million, respectively. TK Elevator is the official vertical-transportation provider for the Hudson Yards megadevelopment. Also sold was a unit at 22 Bond Street in the NoHo Historic District — a three-bedroom, 3,744-ft2 unit with direct elevator access that fetched US$10.4 million. Designed by BKSK Architects, the industrial-inspired, artsy property houses only six condominium units. There was a total of 205 condo and co-op sales for the week, totaling US$387.14 million. | | | View from the rooftop of 40 West 74th Street; image courtesy of StreetEasy | | 22 Bond Street; image courtesy of StreetEasy | | | | Villa Barone Manor, Bronx | April 10, 2024 For more information, visit website. | | NAEC Spring Educational Conference | April 14-17, 2024 For more information, visit website. | | International Elevator & Escalator Symposium | November 12-13, 2024 For more information, visit website. | | | Editorial submissions, reprint permission requests and subscription/removal requests should be sent to the ELEVATOR WORLD Editorial Department. EW New York editorial staff: Angela C. Baldwin, Kaija Wilkinson, Kathleen Farrell and Lindsay Fletcher. The EW Editorial Calendar can be downloaded here. ELEVATOR WORLD New York is a registered trademark, and all rights are reserved. Copyright 2022 © Elevator World, Inc. | | | Copyright © 2023 Elevator World, Inc., All rights reserved.
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