Disabled Brother, Sister Trapped In Apartment With Broken Elevator Say They Feel Like Captives
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A disabled brother and sister sharing an apartment on Chicago's West Side say they feel like captives. They're trapped on the building's top floor with no real escape.
"You feel like you in prison," said Dary Brooks. "It's like sometimes you got to stay prayed up you don't lose your mind sitting up in here."
Brooks and his disabled sister are trapped in their sixth floor apartment. The only way down is through a dark, steep stairwell. It's impossible for them because they both use wheelchairs.
The elevator, near their apartment door, has been broken for about a week.
"A person shouldn't have to live like this," said Brooks' sister Rose Turner. "This is no way to live, you trapped in your own apartment, day in, day out, 24/7."
Turner is 68 years old and unable to walk. Brooks is 55.
They moved into the Pangea managed apartment in July and say elevator problems are frequent.
"It's not just me here in this building," Brooks said. "You've got other people in this building in wheelchairs here, too, on different floors, can't get out."
They say calls to the building's manager aren't helping.
"It's not doing any good because all they're doing is saying that they're going to put the order in," said Turner.
But being trapped isn't their only concern. They've been living without a refrigerator since day one, relying solely on a deep freezer for their food supply.
"Just messed up some eggs," said Turner. "And the milk will freeze. You have to take the milk out and let it unfreeze."
"It's a headache," said Brooks. "Begging and pleading, begging and pleading. Keep asking for two months already."
They pay $1,020 a month in rent.
Pangea's management office was closed when CBS 2 tried to get answers.
"It makes me very sad and unhappy," said Turner. "Sometimes I feel like I want to cry. I want to go downstairs. I need to get some air. I need to go outside.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov spoke with other people who live in the Austin neighborhood building who echo the same elevator concerns.
Kozlov also spoke with someone answering phones for Pangea Real Estate and said why she was calling, but no manager has returned the call.