Legal Aid Society attorneys protest dangerous elevators at Downtown Brooklyn headquarters

August 8, 2018 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Members of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW Local 2325, were outside 111 Livingston St. in Downtown Brooklyn on Wednesday to protest the poor conditions of their building's elevator. Attorneys say they've complained about the building to management for at least the last four years and have to put up with elevators that regularly get stuck between floors so workers have to crawl out of them. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese

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Despite temperatures that reached 90 degrees, attorneys for the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn were outside of their Downtown Brooklyn headquarters protesting the dangerous conditions of the elevators in their building.

“The elevators have become really hazardous,” said Emily Eaton, who has worked in the building for two and a half years. “The elevators get stuck all the time. Just this morning someone was stuck in one for an hour. The doors regularly open between floors and it’s scary that people are trapped inside or forced to crawl out.”

The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW Local 2325, were outside 111 Livingston St. picketing the building on Wednesday afternoon chanting slogans like, “Broken doors, stuck between floors, we deserve more,” and “Fix those elevator doors.”

Attorneys at the rally told the Brooklyn Eagle that the problems started with the elevators nearly six or seven years ago and that managers at the Legal Aid Society began making regular complaints starting approximately four years ago. They say that when problems occur that the immediate issue will be fixed, but they quickly come back.

“The fix the problems as they come, but they never stop coming,” Eaton said. “They keep dragging their feet when it comes to finally addressing the elevators so problems don’t keep happening.”

The group is calling on the building’s landlord, Abraham Leser, to fix the elevators. “Abraham Leser, we deserve better,” some chanted.

“The elevators at 111 Livingston have presented a danger to workers and visitors to the building for at least 4 years, with numerous people having to climb out of elevators stuck between floors, presenting a huge danger to their lives,” said a statement issued by the Legal Aid Society. “Despite numerous requests and many years of complaints, the landlord has not adequately addressed this issue and provided a safe work environment or alternative work arrangements to ensure the safety of workers and clients.”