Oneida, NY Building Safety: Elevator Maintenance (2026)

Section 77-41 of the Housing Standards chapter sets six specific maintenance duties for elevators, dumbwaiters and moving stairs in multiple dwellings. Equipment must be maintained free from physical and fire hazards, and elevator and power-operated dumbwaiter cars must carry durable, conspicuous signs stating their rated capacity. Cars must have an approved means to transmit an emergency signal outside the hoistway. Hoistways and pits must be kept free of refuse, and machine rooms must stay free of oil and grease; they cannot be used to store articles or materials unrelated to elevator or dumbwaiter maintenance, and flammable liquids are barred from those rooms outright.

Subsection F prohibits making any required safety device or electrical protective device inoperative at any time, with a narrow exception while tests, inspections or maintenance are actually underway. This sits inside Chapter 77's Article I general equipment requirement (§ 77-38), which already directs that elevators and similar mechanical systems be installed, located and maintained so they will not become a danger to health or welfare, a structural hazard, a source of ignition or an excessive-noise nuisance. Enforcement runs through the same Bureau of Fire Agency that administers the rest of Chapter 77: inspectors carry official identification (§ 77-22) and can enter a building at any reasonable time during business hours, or without consent in an emergency, to check compliance.

A written notice of violation gives the responsible party 10 days to fix the problem or request a hearing before the Chief Officer (§ 77-32), and an unresolved order can lead to a final compliance order under § 77-34.