PETERSBURG, Va. – Residents with mobility issues living on the upper floors of the Carriage House Apartments in Petersburg were left stranded Monday morning when the building’s only working elevator broke down.
“It frustrates me, yes,” said resident Ezzard Jackson, expressing concerns about the complex’s ongoing elevator problems.
Charles Lawson Sr. experienced first-hand the unreliability of the elevator.
After briefly leaving the building, he returned to find the elevator out of service.
“I wasn’t gone more than about an hour, and when I came back they told me I couldn’t use the elevator,” Lawson said.
Residents like Lawson, who have difficulty walking, raised concerns about the stairs, which are not accessible to everyone living in the building.
“You have people in wheelchairs, walkers, they can’t climb steps at all,” he said.
Emergency services were called to assist Jackson in descending from his top floor apartment due to an elevator malfunction.
Councilor scolds apartment owners because of broken elevators: ‘The city does not support this’
“Let me see some progress,” a disgruntled Jackson said of the elevator’s ongoing problems. “Week after week, and still not fixed, that doesn’t really make me feel good.”
Lawson echoed his neighbor’s sentiments.
“It doesn’t get better; If it was, the other elevator would be repaired,” he said.
Earlier this year, residents had to evacuate the building for two months when both elevators were out of service. After we moved back in, there was only one elevator still operational.
Mid-morning Monday, Petersburg Code Enforcement officials and the fire marshal met with the apartment complex’s management.
The elevator was returned to service shortly before noon and the property owners were not issued a citation by Code Enforcement.
Jim Reid of Petersburg Code Enforcement explained that the elevators had been repaired but were awaiting a clear inspection certificate.
“Once the clear inspection certificate is issued, they will have two operational elevators,” Reid said.
Residents continue to express frustration over the ongoing issues impacting their living conditions, highlighting the urgent need for reliable building accessibility.
Local news
Residents are still frustrated by the increasing problems in defective apartments in Petersburg
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