Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Building Where Suzanne Hart Died Reopens with Elevator Escorts

By Mary Johnson | January 3, 2012 4:17pm
A memorial plaque for Suzanne Hart has been put up in the lobby of 285 Madison Ave., the building where she was killed in an elevator accident on Dec. 19, 2011.
A memorial plaque for Suzanne Hart has been put up in the lobby of 285 Madison Ave., the building where she was killed in an elevator accident on Dec. 19, 2011.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Mary Johnson

MIDTOWN — The building where ad executive Suzanne Hart lost her life in a tragic elevator accident partially reopened on Tuesday morning, with building workers accompanying all returning employees on their elevator rides.

The building, located at 285 Madison Ave. between East 40th and 41st streets, closed after Hart was crushed to death on Dec. 14, when an elevator she was entering shot up, trapping her between the elevator and the wall of the elevator shaft.

Repairs continue to be made on that elevator, and other elevators serving the building’s lower floors remain closed while the Department of Buildings completes its investigation into the accident. But on Tuesday, the building welcomed back employees who work on floors 12 through 25, according to reports and several employees.

The top floors of 285 Madison Ave. reopened on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012. The barricades that have blocked the entrance since Hart's accident have been removed.
The top floors of 285 Madison Ave. reopened on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012. The barricades that have blocked the entrance since Hart's accident have been removed.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Mary Johnson

The staff of Young & Rubicam, where Hart worked, was scheduled to remain off-site until the rest of the building is reopened, although some Y&R employees who work on upper floors returned to the building on Tuesday. The advertising agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For some, the extra security accompanying them up in the building's elevators was a welcome support.

Ashley Ferguson, 39, a Y&R employee, said the security presence offered "a sense of comfort" as he rode to the 16th floor on Tuesday morning.

"They just gave us a sense that they put their work in," Ferguson said, referring to efforts by building personnel to ease workers' fears. "It’s good to be back."

Ferguson said he knew Hart, though not well.

"She had a smile on her face every time I did see her," Ferguson said.

That smile is now permanently displayed in the building’s lobby. In roughly the same spot where a large photograph of Hart was set up soon after she died, a picture of the 41-year-old is now encased in a gold frame on the wall.

The security presence, however, wasn't enough to erase the recent accident from other workers' minds.

Alex Parra, 32, said he took the stairs up to his 12th floor office on Tuesday — and planned to continue using the stairs for at least the rest of the week.

"For my own sanity I just want to take the stairs," said Parra, who works for Wunderman, a Y&R sister company. "It's just a mental thing."

Parra said several of his coworkers were also feeling reluctant about using the elevators, although he acknowledged that he and his fellow stair-users were probably among the minority in the building.

"It’s still pretty sad," he said. But, he added, "life goes on."

Hart’s tragic and violent death has sparked an investigation by the Department of Buildings into Transel Elevators, the repair company that serviced the building's elevators shortly before Hart was killed.

Several Department of Buildings employees were among those trekking in and out of 285 Madison Ave. on Tuesday, but the department did not respond to a request for comment about the purpose of their presence on site.