Nearly a year after an elevator failure left disabled residents at a Boston public housing complex practically stranded in their apartments, the elevator has been repaired. Unfortunately, there is now a larger problem of damaged and unreliable elevators in other buildings in the complex. Residents say they feel trapped, afraid of getting locked in an elevator or being stranded in their apartments.
“I’m paranoid, I have to go with somebody in the elevator because I’m so afraid of it,” said a resident named Sonia. Sonia is a wheelchair user. Her apartment is on the fifth floor of the Ruth Barkley Apartments in Boston’s South End neighborhood. “I was taking my son to school … and we got stuck, and it wouldn’t open,” said Sonia. Ultimately, the fire department had to open the elevator door.
Broken elevators are not a new problem for The Boston Housing Authority. The Boston Fire Department responded to the complex at least eight times in the first seven months of the year to rescue people trapped in broken elevators, according to city data.
The Boston Housing Authority, the city’s largest housing provider and New England’s largest public housing authority, manages the complex. Residents of two high-rise buildings describe the identical scenario. Each building has two elevators, one out of service and the other unreliable.
Unfortunately, there is no required timeline for elevators to be fixed under The Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act does require housing providers to offer safe means of evacuation for all individuals, including disabled people. Even if the elevator is broken, occupants must have a safe means out of the building.
The Boston Housing Authority told WGBH News that it plans to begin repairs in the coming months. However, they do not have enough money to cover all of the elevator repairs. The Boston Housing Authority says approximately 33.3% of all elevators on its properties are at or approaching the “end of life.”
The ongoing problems have left residents like Sonia frustrated. “We’ve gone, we’ve called, we complain, but nobody is hearing what we have to say,” said Fred Mazyck, who uses a cane and lives on the 10th floor. The elevators also shake and skip floors.
One concerned resident, who uses a wheelchair, said she has been stranded in her building’s elevator several times. She lives on the ninth floor. She has slid down the stairs many times when both elevators were out of service. “We’re people, too. And just because we live in housing, we shouldn’t have to live like we’re not worth the money,” said the resident, who wished to remain anonymous.
According to the BHA, one elevator at Ruth Barkley Apartments is experiencing a “long term outage” – it has been out of operation for approximately a year since replacement parts are no longer available. The BHA plans to begin upgrading that elevator in the coming months. The BHA will spend $6 million alone on elevators at Ruth Barkley.
However, the funding falls short of needs. The BHA estimates that fully upgrading an elevator costs between $1.5 million and $5 million. Elevators are just one of the many expensive significant repairs required in Boston’s public housing.
“This issue is symptomatic of decades of underfunding in the Public Housing program, which has resulted in crucial facilities, such as roofs, plumbing and elevators, remaining in service past their useful life,” Brian Jordan, BHA spokesperson, wrote in an email.
For me, not being able to access an elevator is a safety concern. In school, I would go to the stairwell and sit and wait during fire drills. I was afraid that I would be left behind. During an emergency drill, I wanted to leave the building safely, as any nondisabled person would. Everyone’s well-being should be a priority.
One day, while I was in middle school, an adult told me, “Pick a cute fireman to carry you.” I was appalled. I felt like my well-being was a joke to this person. I never considered being carried by emergency personnel to be an entitlement or special privilege.
Growing up, there were multiple instances where elevators were broken at school. There were times when my mother would have to carry me upstairs to my classroom. In seventh grade, I stayed home for a couple of days because the elevator was broken.
The Boston Public Housing Authority should make elevator repair a priority. It is a disgrace that there is not enough funding to fix the elevators. Disabled people shouldn’t be forgotten when it comes to building safety.
Sources:
Girtman, Taylor. “Elevator Broken down in Your Apartment Building? Here Are Your Rights.” KXAN Austin, NBC, 30 Jan. 2024, http://www.kxan.com/news/texas/elevator-broken-down-in-your-apartment-building-here-are-your-rights/
Neisloss, Liz. “Elderly and Disabled Residents Stranded in Boston Public Housing Apartments Due to Broken Elevator.” WGBH, WGBH Educational Foundation, 28 Sept. 2023, http://www.wgbh.org/news/housing/2023-09-22/elderly-and-disabled-residents-stranded-in-boston-public-housing-apartments-due-to-broken-elevator.
Neisloss, Liz. “Still Getting Trapped in Boston Public Housing Elevators.” WGBH, WGBH Educational Foundation, 30 July 2024, http://www.wgbh.org/news/housing/2024-07-29/still-getting-trapped-in-boston-public-housing-elevators.