Hardship for residents of Lauderhill building as elevator out of service for 2 weeks
LAUDERHILL - Beleaguered residents of an apartment and condominium building in Lauderhill appealed for help from CBS4 after they say their only elevator has not been working for two weeks.
Some of those residents have medical conditions and have trouble breathing and struggle to reach the top floors of the 6-story building.
Those residents told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the elevator was knocked out of service around the time there was damage from Hurricane Ian.
They gave D'Oench exclusive access to the building as they struggled to reach the top floors.
As a CBS4 crew followed them, you could hear their heavy breathing as they were forced to make several stops at the building at 2601 N.W. 56th Ave.
They watched as both women doubled over in exhaustion while trying to reach their apartments.
Ashley Thompson said, "I am asthmatic and I can not climb six floors of stairs like this, so I am homebound until my lungs have the capacity to do this or until they fix it. It is very frustrating, very frustrating."
"It is terrible. How do you get groceries up here? How do you get cases of water up here? The delivery guy canceled my order because he couldn't deliver without an elevator. I have been here for 2 years and I have never had a consistent elevator," she said.
"They need to fix the elevator especially since they have been raising the rent. We should have a working elevator. You have stroke survivors here and asthma patients. My neighbor has breathing issues and they need to fix this elevator." she added.
We also followed Virginia Martin, who lives on the fifth floor and who has COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
"I have COPD and I can't get any medication because they don't want to walk up this staircase and deliver it. I work at the airport and I walk all day and I don't want to come home and walk up 5 flights of stairs. I love my apartment, don't get me wrong. I love my apartment but this elevator is unacceptable. I would like to see them fix the elevator and have a consistent elevator, not a part-time elevator."
As we followed her to the fifth floor, she said "I thought I was going to pass out. I could not breathe and there was no air in the staircase."
"It seems like they don't care. I have been in that office quite a few times and they always give me another answer, another answer and nothing gets resolved," Martin said.
Martin said her rent had recently been raised to $1400 a month from $1250 a month a year ago.
D'Oench knocked on the door of the office at the building.
Two employees there did not want to talk on camera and they referred him to an email address for the property manager.
CBS4 sent an email message but has not heard back.
Off camera, they said the elevator lost service as a result of damage from Hurricane Ian and they said parts had been ordered.
They said they expected to receive them by the end of the week.