NEW ORLEANS — Ruth Hampton reached out to Eyewitness News on Tuesday night about broken elevators at her apartment complex.
According to Hampton, elderly and disabled residents were trapped in their homes because they cannot take the stairs.
Hampton lives at the Bienville Basin Apartments located in the Treme.
“I invited you here because this living arrangement that I have. Can’t use the elevators. They’re not working. I have to go up and down the steps and I feel like I need to take it a step further than the office," Hampton said.
The building has two elevators. Hampton said one hasn't been in service for several weeks and the other went out this weekend after a power outage.
“Without elevators they’ve got a lot of elderly people in this building," Hampton said. "Some people are in wheelchairs or walk with walkers, them people can’t get from the fourth floor down them steps. Some of them people can’t do it. And that’s wrong. That’s not right. You don’t treat people like this."
Hampton said she has health problems of her own.
Cedrick Doucet is another resident who said he's fed up, and he's also contacted management.
“They just kept saying 'wel,l we’re waiting on parts,' but now it has been over four months, and now both elevators are broken," Doucet said.
Doucet complained again on Wednesday afternoon at the administration office.
The office told Eyewitness News Reporter Lily Cummings to call their corporate office, HRI properties.
According to a spokesperson for HRI properties, one of the elevators was reset Wednesday afternoon. It went down on Saturday after a power outage.
The other elevator was vandalized two weeks ago, and they're waiting on a $5,000 part to repair it, HRI said.
They did not know when the part would come in, but HRI said they've already approved the expense.
Both of the elevators are under a service contract and crews were called to make repairs immediately after the power outage on Saturday, HRI said.
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