Volume 83 | February 2026 | | | 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 3,500 subscribers in the New York area. | | | | FUJITEC ELEVATOR SYSTEM FOR NEW BILLIONAIRES' ROW SKYSCRAPER | | | The tower includes a new home for Calvary Baptist Church; photo by Michael Young for New York YIMBY. | | Fujitec tells ELEVATOR WORLD it provided four 1,200 ft/min gearless traction and three 200 ft/min machine-room-less (MRL) elevators for 125 West 57th Street, a new 30-story commercial building on Billionaires' Row in Manhattan adjacent to Central Park. The contract was awarded to Fujitec by general contractor Leeding Builders Group LLC. The tower was designed by FXCollaborative and developed by Alchemy-ABR Investment Partners and Cain International, New York YIMBY reported. The structure yields 185,000 ft2 of Class A office space, a 7,000-ft2 office amenity/retail floor designed by Gensler and a new, six-story home for Calvary Baptist Church, also designed by FXCollaborative. The gearless traction elevators serve the tower side, while the MRLs serve the church side. Units on the tower side include Fujitec's destination-dispatch system. | | | | ECNY TO PRESENT ROOFTOP RECEPTION AND SUPPLIER SHOWCASE | | | Elevator Conference of New York (ECNY) invites ECNY members, vendors and Supplier Showcase attendees to the Vendor Appreciation & Networking Penthouse & Rooftop Reception and annual Supplier Showcase on April 14 in the Flatiron District and April 15 in the Bronx, respectively. Launched last year to great success, the reception is planned for 5-9 p.m. at the 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar at 1150 Broadway. On tap will be breathtaking views of the NYC skyline, hors d'oeuvres, dinner, dessert and a top-shelf open bar. The cost is US$275 per person by March 14 and US$300 per person after. As always, the Supplier Showcase will be held at Villa Barone Manor on Throgs Neck Expressway in the Bronx from noon to 6 p.m. Featuring more than 80 ECNY supplier companies, this popular expo features an unlimited open buffet, free valet parking and a cash bar. | | | Last year's rooftop reception was a big hit. | | The Supplier Showcase is a chance to check out vendors' latest offerings and network. | | | | THREE ELEVATORS MODERNIZED BY MID-AMERICAN UNVEILED BY MTA | | | The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveiled three modernized elevators on February 2 for the 125th Street ABCD subway station in Harlem. MTA tells ELEVATOR WORLD that Chicago-based Mid-American Elevator performed the work. Part of larger accessibility and safety upgrades, the elevators serve the mezzanine to platform and street level to the mezzanine. Elevator cabs and associated equipment, along with an elevator head house and street-level canopy, were replaced. The elevator machine room, electrical and mechanical equipment were all replaced, and modifications to the shaft and pit were performed to accommodate new equipment. MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said the work was completed two months ahead of schedule, reflecting the authority's "record-setting year" of replacing elevators "better, faster and cheaper." | One of the modernized elevators; photo by Marc A. Hermann for MTA | | | | DECOLA JOINS START ELEVATOR AS ACCOUNT MANAGER | | | | | Greg DeCola III recently announced he joined Start Elevator as account manager, handling day-to-day operations, repairs, modernizations and preventive maintenance for a diverse portfolio of elevators across the NYC metropolitan area. A third-generation elevator man, DeCola started his career in the field at D&D Elevator when was 19 years old. He then spent three years on the consulting side of the business working with his father, Greg DeCola, at Omega Industries performing third-party vertical-transportation (VT) inspection witnessing. With generations of experience behind him and comprehensive knowledge of the VT industry, DeCola III excelled in the modernization and service departments at the Schindler NYC office from 2021-2025. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Binghamton University School of Management. | | | | SMALL ELEVATOR PROPOSAL WINS INAUGURAL ACCESSIBILITY CHALLENGE | | | A proposal to revise NYC code to allow for smaller elevators in existing buildings was one of two winners of the inaugural Opening Doors Innovation Challenge in Housing and Small Businesses, the Department of Buildings (DOB) announced in January. The initiative was launched by DOB and the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development in 2025 with the aim to bring together "designers, technologists, advocates and problem-solvers to reimagine accessibility in our built environment." A panel of judges selected the winners: land use lawyer, architect and founder of Urban Factors land consultancy Margery Perlmutter for her small elevators proposal and architect Elizabeth Austin Katz for a proposal to create accessibility reports at building entrances for visitors and occupants. In Perlmutter's presentation, she pointed out that installing elevators in existing buildings is common in Europe and showed an example of small courtyard elevators in France. | | | SYLVAIN JOINS KONE NEW YORK SALES TEAM | | | | | Rozario Sylvain recently joined the KONE New York sales team that includes Vanessa Kline and Frank Sama. Sylvain continues to serve as a board member for the Queens & Bronx Building Association. He previously was an account executive for NYC-based Champion Elevator. Sylvain holds an associate's degree in criminal justice and corrections from Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY. He said the elevator industry has given him "a foundation to be proud of," and he appreciates "every mentor, building walk-through and conversation that has sharpened me along the way." Sylvain said: "I'm excited for the next chapter at KONE with a team recognized for innovation, safety and culture that pushes our industry forward." | | | | TAVROS CLOSES ON US$143-MILLION ACQUISITION OF WATER STREET SITE | | | One of South Street Seaport's most prominent full-block development sites in Lower Manhattan has officially changed hands, with Seaport Entertainment Group completing the sale of its mixed-use project at 250 Water Street to Tavros for US$143 million, BLDUP reported on February 10. Bounded by Peck Slip, Pearl Street, Water Street and Beekman Street, the property was originally acquired in June 2018 by Howard Hughes Holdings, which had planned a supertall designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The one-acre property has been approved for a 26-story building (not a supertall) with up to 399 residential units — both market rate and affordable — along with a considerable amount of retail and community space. JLL represented Seaport in the transaction. | | | | DOB ANNOUNCES JOBSITE SAFETY SWEEP RESULTS | | | The Department of Buildings (DOB) recently announced results of construction site safety sweeps it conducted in response to "concerning rise in building construction worksite fatalities in 2025." In addition to the surprise jobsite visits across the five boroughs, the effort included an educational outreach campaign. DOB inspectors visited 705 work sites throughout the city, distributed multi-lingual safety information and conducted inspections. Violations were found at 14% of the sites visited, and a total of 50 stop-work orders were issued. "Our message with this sweep was simple: Every worker deserves to get home safe to their family," DOB said. Despite the rise in fatalities, NYC saw a decline in worksite injuries in 2025, which were down by more than 30% compared to 2024. | | | | WALDORF ASTORIA HITS MARKET AFTER CONDO CONVERSION | | | After an eight-year conversion that trimmed the hotel portion to 375 rooms and created 372 condominium units, the Waldorf Astoria at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan has been put up for sale by owner Dajia Insurance Group, a state-run Chinese firm, The Real Deal NY reported on February 12, citing the Wall Street Journal. Eastdil Secured is marketing the property, which is expected to hit the market in March with an asking price of at least US$1 billion. The condo units will be sold separately, but the overall offering will include adjoining retail. Redevelopment of the Art Deco landmark, which opened in 1931 and is 47 stories tall, began in 2017, with NYC's TEI Group awarded the vertical-transportation contract a few years later. Under that contract, TEI constructed eight passenger and four service elevators, and modernized nine passenger and five service elevators. The conversion was lengthy, in large part, due to the Chinese government's seizure of the original owner — Anbang Insurance Group — and the imprisonment of its CEO for embezzlement, along with pandemic-related cost overruns and delays. | Image courtesy of Hilton Hotels | | | | COLORS AI TEAM ENTERS STRATEGIC INTEGRATION WITH AQUANT | | | Colors AI and Aquant, both AI platform companies headquartered in NYC, announced on February 11 the Colors AI team is entering a strategic integration with Aquant "to lead midmarket expansion and segment execution, integrating our domain expertise with Aquant's asset-centric Agentic AI platform to unlock additional workflows and use cases for the market," according to Colors AI founder and former Chief Product Officer Alon Kichin. Colors AI focuses on making existing documentation useful in the field, and its clients include independent elevator companies. Kichin said the alliance with Aquant promises to bring Colors AI "to a level of scale and impact we could not reach alone." A global leader in service intelligence for asset-heavy organizations, Aquant has raised more than US$100 million and works with major customers such as Coca-Cola, John Deere, Siemens, Beckman Coulter, JLG and many others. | (l-r) Colors AI founder Alon Kichin and Aquant Mid-Market Expansion Lead Doron Levy | | | | SAATI RETIRES AFTER LONG CAREER WITH EPCO | | | | | Hibba Saati recently retired after a nearly 50-year career with EPCO Elevator Products Corp., based in Wayne, New Jersey. Saati holds a degree from American University in Beirut, Lebanon, where she studied mechanical engineering and design. She began her EPCO career in the engineering department as an elevator fixture designer, then served as engineering and business development manager — a role she held for the past 25 years. The industry reacted with many congratulations upon Saati's announcing her retirement on LinkedIn. Colleagues thanked her for her friendship, mentorship and "always going above and beyond for anyone needing assistance," according to Business Analyst John Hoffman. Perlen Steel CEO Rob Masterson said: "Hibba, you truly made an indelible mark with the elevator fixtures industry. Your knowledge, expertise and professionalism is truly in a league of its own. You will certainly be missed." | | | | TOSHIBA'S ELEVATOR STAKE COULD SHIFT TO KONE OR ANOTHER PLAYER | | | Japan's Toshiba could divest part or all of its approximately 80% stake in Toshiba Elevator & Building Systems as Finland's KONE — which already owns slightly less than 20% of Toshiba Elevator — is among likely potential buyers of more shares, The Japan Times is among outlets to report, citing Bloomberg and "people with knowledge of the matter." KONE has expressed its interest in increasing its stake in Toshiba Elevator in discussions with the Japanese group, the source said. Analysts have said "any move toward control of Toshiba Elevator would likely be gradual; given local ownership sensitivities." Japan's dense installed and aging vertical-transportation fleet promise to drive modernization in a service-heavy market, analysts said. Deliberations are at an early stage, and other potential buyers could be interested in a stake in Tosbiha Elevator, whose products can be found in the Shanghai World Financial Center, Taipei 101 in Taiwan and Tokyo Skytree | | | | KONE AWARDED PLATINUM MEDAL IN ECOVADIS SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT | | | Finland-headquartered KONE announced on February 17 it was awarded a Platinum Medal in the EcoVadis 2025 sustainability assessment, placing in the top 1% of companies assessed worldwide. The assessment evaluates sustainability performance in four categories: environment, labor/human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. KONE's scores improved across all four categories in 2025. EcoVadis is one of the world's most trusted business sustainability rating providers, evaluating more than 150,000 companies worldwide. Since it began being assessed in 2018, KONE has received Gold or above rankings from EcoVadis each year. KONE observed it has been a "frontrunner in sustainable innovation for decades, pushing new solutions that lower buildings' carbon footprints." It was the first in the industry to set ambitious, science-based climate targets for 2030, KONE stated. | | | TEI WELCOMES SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER | | | | | TEI Group, headquartered in NYC with a growing presence in the Southeast, recently welcomed Brandon Moran as its new South Florida business development manager, based at the Miramar office. Moran joins TEI with more than 20 years' vertical-transportation industry experience, beginning his career in new installation with what was then ThyssenKrupp before advancing to project management and serving as regional project manager for the Pacific Northwest. Moran was also project executive for the landmark Baha Mar resort development in Nassau, Bahamas. He later transitioned to new installation sales in Miami, supporting major high-rise developments and helping shape the city's skyline. He expanded into major building technology controls with Johnson Controls in 2024. In his new role with TEI, Moran is leveraging his field, project and sales expertise to strengthen partnerships and drive growth across South Florida. | | | TOTAL SERVICE ANNOUNCES UPDATED ERP PLATFORM TS CLOUD | | | | | Total ServiceTM, a cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform purpose-built for elevator companies, on February 12 announced Total Service Cloud (TS Cloud), a next-generation, cloud-based evolution of its Total Service ERP platform. TS Cloud is designed to deliver enhanced performance, modern user experience and greater flexibility for service-driven organizations while preserving the core workflows on which customers rely. The updated platform represents a significant step forward from legacy, on-premises deployments, providing fully cloud-native architecture built to support stability, continuous innovation and real-time operational visibility. The platform is currently in a controlled beta program with select customers, and Total Service will be releasing a short introductory video soon. Customers and prospects also have the option to request temporary preview access, providing a hands-on look at the updated platform. | | | | NAEC Spring Educational Conference | March 22-25, 2026
For more information visit naec.org. | | | | 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 2026 © Elevator World, Inc. | | | Copyright © 2026 Elevator World, Inc., All rights reserved.
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