b"to do. I would also have my work day planned for me. After a while, I would know the routine and know what to check: oil,lubricate, check out situations, listen for any noises. You get attuned to a situation with the devices. We have generatorsgoing, hoist motors going. It's a lot of noises in motor rooms and a lot of heat. You get attuned to a feel to pick up onsounds and smells and sights of things going wrong. Plus, I did the general maintenance, oil and lubrication, under thedirection of an elevator mechanic and repairs.People get stuck in elevators, even in the courthouses. Lawyers, judges, passengers get stuck in elevators. It's notsomething that you want to happen, but this is mechanical equipment, mechanical equipment does fail. Just like yourautomobile, you need oil changes, brakes, tires, a starter. It's the same thing, it's mechanical equipment. We were thereto also remove people from stuck elevators.What would that be like? What is the protocol?You have intercom systems, alarm bells, and phones in some elevators. In our division, we were kind of modernizedahead of time. We had telemetering which is consoles with actual elevators on air from different buildings. You wouldhave a program and you would have all these buildings tied into this program. If you had any elevator faults, it wouldcome up on the screen and actually warn you. We were advanced in computerization over in DCAS. When we saw a fault,we would send somebody right away. We would get phone calls from custodial people, from security people and sendmechanics there. We would just reach out to them, beepers, phones, whatever. It was a very, very organized group.What did you like best about your job?Well, I took pride in working for the City of New York. I loved working for the City of New York. I took pride in providing good service. I took my job very seriously. And, I wanted my members to also provide the same service thatI would want them to provide. I was very proud of that.What was more problematic for you on the job?The 1970s compared to the 2000s was very different. The industry evolved and the job became more complex. It became much more safety-conscious, the rules and regulations were very stringent. An elevator is a very serious entity.It has a lot of implications on public safety and stuff like that and it's very difficult to provide exemplary service to the public. There's a lot involved - inspections and everything else - and you want to provide a high factor of safety for thepublic. Things break down, an elevator, an escalator, like a car. It happens because its mechanical equipment. You'rethere to make sure it doesn't. It's a very serious job.You went from elevator mechanic helper to elevator mechanic supervisor. What would be a typical day as asupervisor?So, the steps up in my group were elevator mechanic helper, elevator mechanic and then supervisor, then deputy director and then director. Those are like the step ups in our unit. The first three are civil service exams. The next two arenot. They are appointments. As a supervisor and in the beginning of my supervision career, I was assigned to the Bronx. I oversee the buildings and the people that worked in the buildings, the mechanics and the helpers. I was in charge ofthem making sure they did the proper things. I would inspect the elevators and everything else. I also had an inspectors107 "