By 1934, Manhattan borough president Samuel Levy called the elevators "unsafe", given that all of the elevators needed twice-daily inspections, and their manufacturer had gone out of business soon after installing them. The city had to make its own replacement parts for the elevators, which had been described as "old and wheezy", and acting like "Coney Island roller coasters", and fourteen of the elevators had to be taken out of service in late 1934. All of the elevators were replaced between 1935 and 1937, under a project funded partially with a $1.8 million grant from the Works Progress Administration. While the elevators were being replaced, city employees in the building worked in three staggered shifts. The elevator project also shortened several elevator shafts: within the north and south wings, some of the shafts above the 14th floor were removed to make way for office space. "Civic Fame" at the top of the Municipal Building was also refurbished during the 1930s, and green mercury vapor bulbs were also installed in the north lobby.