New York Lawsuit Over Shabbos Elevator

6
>>Follow Matzav On Whatsapp!<<

shabbos-elevatorIt’s a lawsuit over a New York minute – a minute and 23 seconds, to be exact.

The only-in-New-York tale pits elderly residents of a West 65th Street building against their Orthodox Jewish neighbors, who want to operate one of two elevators in a special, slower mode on Friday nights and Shabbos, reports the NY Post, but  rent-stabilized tenants in 33 of the building’s 86 units claim the resulting delay of 83 seconds is an inexcusable convenience.

The Shabbos elevator would stop at each of the six floors automatically, allowing observant residents to use them. The state authority that regulates rents sided with the old-timers and refused to approve the special elevator service in an April administrative decision, so  Touro College, the building’s landlord – which rents just under half of the units to observant Jewish students – is suing the agency, claiming the ruling violates civil-rights laws, according to the Post.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


6 COMMENTS

  1. some of the frum yid who rent there have small children and it can be difficult shlepping them up (and down) 6 flights of stairs.

  2. There are many rabbanim that allow shabbos elevators. There are students with different needs, who are us to judge them? There could be students in wheelchairs or with leg problems preventing them from taking the stairs.

  3. Not only is a Shabbos elevator muttar (depending on usage) but depending on the elevator and direction (and usage, etc.) a regular elevator could also be used on Shabbos, but CYLOR for guidance.

Leave a Reply to a bochur Cancel reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here