Mayo woman trapped in NYC elevator for 2 hours

By Pierce O’Reilly

Maggie McGarry, a legal secretary at the Lexington Avenue law firm Burgess Ryan and Wayne, was one of the three people trapped in an elevator for over two hours on Monday afternoon.

McGarry was going to lunch at about 1:30 p.m. when the elevator at 370 Lexington Ave. stopped suddenly near the 10th floor.

"At first we thought that someone was about to get on, but when the doors didn’t open, we got a little nervous," she said. "After about five minutes we rang the emergency bell and talked to the doorman, who told us that the elevator was stuck."

McGarry, who works on the 21st floor, said the elevator also "broke down" on Dec. 20 when there was a power shortage. The latest incident has been blamed on an electrical problem.

"At first we didn’t panic, but after an hour, all three of us were getting a bit nervous," she said.

Firefighters who arrived soon after told the occupants they were trying to pull the elevator up to the 12th floor to open the doors. Their efforts, however, failed to release the jammed elevator.

The emergency crews then attempted to break down a nearby wall and, after clearing a large hole, they managed to locate the trapped elevator between the ninth and 10th floors. After digging with jackhammers and other cutting equipment for over a half an hour, they freed the trapped workers.

"When the digging started, we got covered in dust and dirt from the falling stones around us," McGarry said. "It was very scary at the time. When the doors were forced open, we saw about 15 guys with masks in uniforms standing before us."

McGarry, who is married to the entertainer Shay Mac, was shook up and "traumatized a little" after the incident.

"We were very lucky," she said. "If the cutting equipment went through something that was holding us up there, then things could very easily have being a lot different. I had to go for a drink to settle my nerves before I went home."

McGarry, who is from outside Westport, Co. Mayo, now lives in Pelham Bay. She was back at work Tuesday, but she was a little weary of the trip back up the 21st floor.

"The guy with us had a cell phone, but he couldn’t get reception," she said. "Thank God nobody got hurt."