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Comment by mkr-hn | Hacker News Reader

Can you use the elevators? If the generator doesn't have the extra power to run them, offer some customers credit and a mention in the post-mortem if they'll let you shut them down temporarily to power the elevators. Then you can bring fuel up in drums instead of buckets.

edit: Nope. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4723814

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The elevator equipment is also in the basement, which is flooded with sea water and diesel fuel. Even if they had power, there's no running them until everything is cleaned up.[1]

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4720894

How much does it cost to rent a helicopter in NYC?

The elevators are down for safety reasons, IIRC.

And I doubt anyone who's in that building needs "credit" or "a mention in the post-mortem" more than they need the uptime they've paid for.

Yeah, seriously. Hauling drums up 17 flights of stairs is both foolishly risky and inefficient. I suspect there's a little marketing going on here.

Apparently the important bits of the elevator are also underwater.

Ah. That's depressingly poor design. It won't change though :-(

It probably has a hydraulic elevator, which would necessitate having all the mechanical stuff at the bottom.

Hydraulic elevators are only used in buildings with 2-5 (in rare cases up to 8) floors. These are certainly traction elevators but the controls and wiring are still likely located in the basement.

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