Be Glad You Were Not Stuck In The Roosevelt Island F Train Subway Elevator During Yesterday Morning's Rush Hour - That's Why I Take The Stairs Or Escalalators

Image Of Roosevelt Island F Train Subway Elevator To Manhattan Platform

The Roosevelt Island F Train Subway elevator got stuck during yesterday morning's rush hour. Kittylexy, a trapped Roosevelt Island F Train subway rider,  tweeted:

Trapped in RI elevator.60 min n counting

Then

MTA elevator stuck 60min and counting w/15 adults 2 kids 1 baby. Inspection fail. MTA useless. We called 911. Fire dep here

and were finally rescued.

Finally out of the elevator and at work. Thanks to NYC's bravest! The #NYFD rock! Take notes #MTA. Don't leave ppl stranded in elevators!!

Hope you were not one of the unfortunate people stuck in the elevator

Roosevelt Island Public Safety Director Keith Guerra adds:

At approximately 8:25AM, an FDNY vehicle responded to the Train Station. Our PSD units responded as back-up and were informed by FDNY personnel, who were called by the MTA, that 8 people were stuck in the elevator. The individuals were removed from the elevator by FDNY. No injuries were reported.

Interested in knowing what it's like to be stuck in an elevator over a prolonged period of time without actually having to go through the experience? Then check out this previous post that includes a time lapse video of a man stuck in an elevator for over 40 hours.

UPDATE 2:45 PM -Gothamist provides a complete first hand account from the stuck Roosevelt Island subway elevator passenger. An excerpt:

... Seconds into its descent the inside door opened and caused the elevator to stop about 20 to 30 feet below ground level. The man nearest the door tried shutting it a few times; it popped back open twice before closing. The elevator didn’t move after that so we called for “help.” Time in elevator: 10 min (8:15am) The MTA person on the other end came through garbled at best, but offered no real help anyway. The person said they would call the engineer. Ok fine. There was grumbling, one person louder than others, but overall no one was particularly panicked. Ten more minutes go by and it’s getting hot in there. There’s one small vent near the front which is clogged with dirt and who knows what.

We jam the bell button, bang on the door and yell into the call button. One woman was particularly vocal, and who could blame her. It was tightly packed in there, getting stuffier by the moment and there was NO communication from the MTA. When the MTA rep gets back on the speaker, they say, “The engineer is on his way. 10 minutes.” We’ve been stuck about 30 minutes at this point and patience is wearing thin. I think the baby was the most unperturbed of the lot of us. Aerosmith’s “Love in an Elevator” looped in my head, but I thought singing it would be in bad taste....

and a You Tube video of the FDNY's arrival.



 Of the Roosevelt Island subway station and it's escalators, the stuck passenger adds:

 ... The escalators there are perpetually broken as well. My mom was on one when it suddenly stopped. If she wasn’t holding onto the rail she would have been thrown back. I saw another person get his jacket snagged on a section without paneling. He had to keep climbing while he freed himself. When it rains, the place is soaked with water. No one mops. I was being super careful because of that but I slipped and cracked my shins anyway. Did I mention the doors have been broken for months? Yeah, the Roosevelt Island station is a mess and the MTA staff that work there are rude and useless. I’ll take my chances with the tram. At least if that gets stuck I watch YouTube....

 Gothamist's full account of the incident is here.