NEW YORK — A Bronx city councilman slammed the city's public housing authorities Thursday for continuing to rely on its disgraced elevator director to sign off on elevator repairs and inspections.
On Thursday, DNAinfo New York broke the story that NYCHA repair chief Ken Bunny, who was publicly reprimanded and demoted after an elevator accident that resulted in the death of an elderly Bronx man in December, is still responsible for signing off on repairs.
"There’s not a time that I can remember when I go to a NYCHA development that I don’t hear about elevator problems, time and time again," said City Councilman James Vacca, who represents the district where the fatal accident occurred. "And it seems like someone in such a responsible position should be someone who the authority trusts to get the job done and to make the administrative improvements that have to be made."
NYCHA officially demoted Buny on April 15 from director of elevators to elevator administrator after an accident in December that led to the death of 84-year-old Olegario Pabon. Buny's salary was lowered from $144,041 to $136,839, according to NYCHA.
Pabon entered the elevator at NYCHA's Boston Road Plaza senior building in The Bronx on Dec. 24, and as he tried to get on, the machine drifted upward, catching his leg and hand and causing him to fall out. He died of his injuries three days later.
A scathing report from the Department of Investigation found that NYCHA did not act to fix the elevator until days after Pabon's accident and referred 10 employees to NYCHA for discipline, including Buny.
However, despite Buny's demotion, he still signs off on elevator inspections and repairs for NYCHA, because he is still the only agency employee who is licensed to do so.
"I think they owe us an explanation as to how they could have no backup person in the entire agency," Vacca said, "especially as NYCHA has had a history of elevator breakdowns and elevator problems going back many years."
Buny was replaced with Interim Director of Elevator Services Ivo Nikolic, who NYCHA touted for his master's degree in engineering and proven leadership when announcing his new position. Nikolic, however, does not have the proper licensing to sign off on the agency's elevator repairs.
NYCHA has been seeking a permanent replacement to lead its elevator services division since early May, according to agency spokeswoman Zodet Negrón. The replacement will have the proper licensing to sign off on repairs, and Buny will no longer sign off on them once this person is hired.
Negrón also stressed that NYCHA has made several reforms to its elevator system.
"In addition to installing an interim head, NYCHA has taken a number of measures to improve elevator policies and procedures and is training staff to identify high-priority and hazardous conditions, emergency brake systems, regulations and protocols,” she said in a statement.
However, Vacca maintained that the hiring process was taking far too long, given that Pabon's fatal accident happened seven months ago.
"When it comes to elevators, I would think that NYCHA would have others ready to go to assume the mantle, so to speak," he said. "I think seven months is an inordinate amount of time for this position to go officially unfilled."
Vacca said tenants at the Boston Road Plaza building are still afraid to get into the elevator and was discouraged that Pabon's death did not seem to spur more action at NYCHA.
"To have this position not filled seven months really doesn’t say that Mr. Pabon’s death was a wake up call," he said. "I think it should have been a wake up call."
