Elderly residents stranded by broken elevator offered temporary housing

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Things are looking up for dozens of seniors who are stranded for a fourth straight day because of a broken elevator.

The desperate situation was a matter of life and death for at least one tenant, who was unable to attend dialysis appointments. Residents began contacting Local 12 in May, after months of sporadic elevator outages. By early June, the situation had become critical. In the Local 12 article, the landlord said the problem had been resolved.

Then, in late June, after two more outages and another Local 12 article, the city finally cited the landlord and ordered the elevator repaired. The landlord told Local 12 it would be done by August. The elevator was not repaired and broke again on Tuesday. So Local 12 went to the Guardian Apartments a third time to see what could be done to help.

Here’s the result: Firefighters arrived at 5:30 a.m. Friday to help Darlene Monday, who was about to miss her second dialysis appointment in a row. Like many of the 90 elderly residents of The Guardian Apartments, she couldn’t leave her apartment because they couldn’t get down the stairs, especially those in wheelchairs. So Local 12 called Vice Mayor Jan Michele Lemon Kearney.

“I was absolutely horrified,” Kierney said.

She immediately called the fire chief, who mobilized a team to help her receive life-saving treatment on Monday.

“Our city, our city government, will not allow these residents to be stranded,” Kearney said. “That’s just not going to happen.”

With Ms. Monday’s immediate needs met, the elevator problems persisted. The landlord recently informed residents that the elevator might not be repaired until the end of the year and that they could leave if they wished.

After seeing Local 12’s stories, the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati met with residents and arranged a meeting with the city attorney and the building’s owner.

“What happened to that call?” Local 12 asked Nick DiNardo of the Legal Aid Society.

“The landlord and his attorney have agreed to provide temporary housing to anyone with a major mobility issue who wants it while we try to at least temporarily resolve the elevator issue,” DiNardo said.

There are about 18 people in wheelchairs in the Guardian Apartments, and many more who have difficulty walking. It will take a small army to get them down all the stairs to their new temporary housing. But the deputy mayor said the city will make sure it happens.

“So we’ll make sure they’re taken care of,” Kearney said.

“But it could cost the city thousands of dollars,” Local 12 in Kearney reported.

“The city’s money is for the city’s residents,” Kearney said. “Whatever it costs, the city will take care of it. Now we’re going to go after the owner because it’s their responsibility.”

It appears that tenants are finally getting at least some of their immediate needs met. Building manager Shontel Simmons has started knocking on doors to take grocery orders.

“Here’s my shopping list,” Simmons said. “So tomorrow morning when I get up, I’m going to go to the grocery store, pick these items up and drop them off at people’s houses.”

Firefighters were able to bring her back to her apartment on Friday afternoon.

The Legal Aid Society said people could begin moving into their temporary housing as early as Friday night. Local 12 was unable to reach the building’s owner for comment Friday. Local 12 will keep an eye on the building and residents and report back on any progress.