Elderly residents of the Sunrise residential complex faced problems due to the breakdown of the only elevator in the house
SUNRISE, Florida. (FloridaToday.news) — Elderly residents of an apartment complex in Sunrise say they are stuck in their homes due to a broken elevator.
Several Sunrise Lakes Phase 4 residents told 7News on Thursday about their current predicament.
Local resident Herb Meyer said he now has to walk his dog Pi-Chu down four flights of stairs after the elevator broke down Wednesday afternoon.
Meyer walks his dog several times a day, and with a bad knee, it’s not easy.
“Maybe three or four flights a day, and with a bad knee, it’s pretty hard,” Meyer said.
Resident Enrique Pérez said he uses the ladder to take out the trash and faces similar challenges.
My knees hurt, my back hurts, but I have to keep going,” he said.
They climbed the stairs because one elevator in the building is being replaced, a process that could take weeks, maybe more.
Tiffany Crenshaw’s mother-in-law lives on the third floor and had to move out.
“She is on dialysis three times a week. She has kidney failure so she can’t climb stairs,” Crenshaw said. “She’s disabled, can’t even fly.”
The management company said the replacement of the elevators is a safety issue and they have already completed 16 of the 23 elevators.
Management said they made it clear to residents that they could call staff for help or call the county’s non-emergency number.
Crenshaw said she was told her mother-in-law should take care of the rent.
“From someone in the association who said if there’s a problem, she should get Airbnb, but after looking it’s worth thousands,” Crenshaw said.
For now, according to Kremshaw, her mother-in-law is staying at her home.
As for Meyer and Perez, they said they would keep walking until the elevator was up and running again.
“I don’t feel as bad for myself as I do for other people like him and other people in the building. They can’t do it,” Meyer said.
The management company said that for those who need help, there is help, they just need to ask.
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