Harlem Apartment Building’s Disabled Residents Still Waiting For Elevator Repair

'I've opened about five reports with 311. Nothing has happened.'

A broken elevator has given grief to some residents in Harlem who complain that it has been out of service for nearly a month now.

Residents at 236 West 126th Street told ABC 7 News that they have had to take the stairs in the seven-story building since Nov. 15, and it has presented problems for the people who live in the building.

Shana Best carries her daughter, 6-year-old Khepra, up six flights of stairs to get to her apartment. Her daughter has cerebral palsy and weighs 52 pounds, and the toll of carrying her up the stairs is weighing on her.

“I have to brace her for her over my shoulder. Oh. And just try to safely walk with her up the steps,” Best said. “Yes, she’s going to fight me because she wants to go.”

Residents say that the building is fairly new, but the elevator has not been repaired.

Toni Griffin, 66, who recently had surgery on her knee, yet, has to drag her groceries home and then deal with the issue of climbing the stairs.

“I have to rest every landing,” Griffin said. “It’s like am I going to make it? I have to stop every landing. I can’t do more than one landing at a time.”.

Best said she has placed calls to the city and nothing has happened, although they have promised to come fix it. In the meantime, Best said she leaves her daughter’s expensive wheelchair and medical equipment downstairs in the lobby.

Eyewitness News reached out to the building’s management and after speaking to the super, it said that the elevator parts have been ordered, but that’s a long process. No timetable has been given for the repair to be completed.