EUCLID, Ohio — There are big concerns coming from elderly residents who said they’re having big problems with their elevator at a senior apartment building in Euclid. They reached out to the News 5 Investigators to help put a spotlight on the issues.
Watch our full story below:
“Not getting up and down on the elevator makes life difficult for me,” said Catherine Haywood, who told us she’s almost completely blind and now both elevators at Gateway Pointe Independent Living are out of order.
“How long are we going to sit there with those elevators down and can’t get up the steps?” she asked.
RESIDENTS SAID THE STRUGGLE IS REAL
Residents said one elevator has been out for more than a year and the other has been down for nearly two weeks.
Resident Liz Kilgore showed us the struggle as she walked up the stairs. She said there are people with health problems who live here.
“Going up the steps and then if you got bags of groceries, you in trouble,” Kilgore said.
Resident Kim Washington said she’s had to go to the aid of people on the stairs.
“I helped a lady on the stairwell yesterday,” Washington said. “She was trying to carry her bag with a cane.”
PROPERTY MANAGER RESPONSE
We went in and asked the property manager what’s going on. She wouldn’t go on camera but said they’re working on the elevators; a door is out for repair, there’s a software problem with the elevator that’s been down for a year and there’s no timeline for fixing them. Meanwhile, they’re helping residents go up and down the stairs.
Later in the afternoon, we got a call with more information about the repairs, including a claim that the management has spent $100,000 trying to repair the elevators. The one that went down recently has to have a custom repair after tenants were moving furniture in.
We were also told it’s frustrating for them not to get a timeline from the repair company, and they’re doing everything possible to make this go quickly.
Residents told us they don’t feel a part of the process.
“What concerns me the most is that we’re not being heard,” said resident Janice Hurn.
WHAT IS THE CITY OF EUCLID DOING TO HELP?
Richard Tolton is the ward’s councilman.
“If I could fix the elevators myself, I would do it,” he told us.
He said he, the mayor and the city have been working with the building’s management.
“I think they need to do a little bit more… step up more. It’s just the city being aggressive with them,” said the councilman. “To try to get them to understand the gravity of what’s going on.”
While we were at the apartment building, emergency crews pulled up. If they have to access the upper floors, that’s also a problem.
We asked Tolton if the elevators being out could be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“I believe it can be. It can be,” he replied. “So, that’s another avenue that can be looked at.”
OTHER ISSUES AND MANAGER RESPONSE
Residents also told us about other issues, too, with things like cleanliness, lack of repairs and a big tree that’s been down for nearly two months. The property manager told us trash can get messy over the weekends, and they do have a cleaning company that comes in three times a week to help with the common areas, and they’ve cleared up any violations the building has gotten in the past.
Residents said from their point of view it’s very frustrating.
“I got to go,” Kilgore said. “I can’t pay my rent on time to you and then have to live like this.”
“(On) behalf of all the seniors that can’t speak for themselves, I think something needs to be done. It’s not fair,” Washington said.
“This is a danger here,” Haywood said.
