Last Thursday morning, Jolanda Joyce, 28, was injured when she fell more than 10 feet into an elevator shaft of a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) building in East Harlem.
Apparently, Ms. Joyce, waiting for an elevator in the lobby of the building, unknowingly stepped into an empty shaft when the elevator doors opened. She fell to the bottom of the shaft
In an interview conducted by NY1, Ms. Joyce explained, “I turned around to get my phone from a friend and I opened the elevator door and I took a step and I just fell. There was no elevator there. I landed on my side and my back and I couldn’t move. I was stuck down there. I was down there for almost an hour”
The incident is currently under investigation.
NYCHA has recently come under intense scrutiny for reported failures to maintain elevators in its buildings. 2008 has been marked by a rash of elevator accidents in the City.