NewsChannel 5 viewers have called us, some in tears, about problematic elevators in their high rise building. It all surrounds the Riverview Apartments owned by the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority.
“I’m on the 14th floor,” said Riverview resident Cliff Holt. He told us he’s tired. “You want me to walk down and walk up.”
Cell phone video inside the building showed one of the problems where one elevator was completely shut down today. “The elevators are so old, they don’t even have the parts anymore,” said Holt.
He’s been there for the past seven months, but Howard Whiten has lived in the apartments for eight years. He told us he’s seen the problems the elevator caused people in wheelchairs or who used canes and walkers.
“The other day 10 people got stuck on the elevator on this end. The one that does work,” said Whiten. In fact, we checked with Cleveland Fire and it responded on March 27 to people stuck on an elevator at Riverview. Then, five days later on April 1, another call came in for people stranded on an elevator.
“When you get on that elevator, you don’t know if somebody’s going to have to get you off that elevator through the Jaws Of Life or whatever they use,” said Holt.
CMHA sent us a statement saying, in part, that it’s replacing all six elevators and the first phase will be done this summer. It apologized for the inconvenience of the elevator issue on Friday.
Some people told us that it’s been more than an inconvenience for the elderly. “I don’t know how they make it,” said Whiten.
Here is the entire statement from CMHA:
“We are in the process of performing a major capital improvement, replacing all six elevators within the building, four of which are resident used to access all floors. This work commenced in the month of February 2016, with the anticipation of having the first phase completed this summer. We understand this will cause some challenges for residents. Unfortunately this weekend we experienced an issue with one of our elevators. We apologize for any inconvenience the elevator may have caused. Currently our elevator company is troubleshooting and reviewing the operation of the elevators and are preparing a recommendation for us as we move ahead. CMHA will continue to hold resident update meetings to discuss the schedules and progress. Thank you.”
-Cortney Crockett, CMHA Marketing & Communications Director
