The operator of a Langley seniors’ apartment building that’s been without a working elevator since January is responding to residents’ frustrations.
Some residents of The Fir at 54th Avenue and 204th Street say they have been essentially trapped in their units because of mobility problems that prevent them from using the building’s stairway.
Others told Global News they felt communication with the property’s management, the Langley Lions Society, had been poor and that they weren’t getting clarity on when the elevator would be fixed.
“I think a lot of my admin staff and the caretaking staff are feeling a bit down about how we are being portrayed, I think they work very hard and are dedicated to what we do,” Langley Lions Housing Society executive director Jeanette Dagenais said on Thursday.
“We were quite shocked when the elevator ended up shut down, we had no idea that there maybe was something pending, it’s not our oldest building.”
Dagenais said a replacement for the broken elevator part, a cylinder, has to be custom-made in Quebec, and that the society had paid extra to have the job rushed.
She maintained that the society has been consistent with residents about a 16-week timeline to get the part, but acknowledged they have since learned it will take up to three additional weeks to actually install the cylinder. The society expects the part to be ready by May 23.
“Very stressful for the residents, very stressful for the society, very expensive part,” she said.
“We do get it. We’ve had some people who had to move out.”
Dagenais said the society has worked to find new housing for one resident who had major mobility challenges, and has set up coffee social events on the building’s upper floors for other residents.
Building caretakers are also available from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. daily to help residents, she said.
But residents like Anna Abel remain frustrated about the long timeline to get the elevator running.
Abel, who has lung problems, says tackling the building’s stairs remains a monumental task.
“I got to my door, I was so dizzy, I couldn’t see straight, I couldn’t speak at all. I lost my voice. And it took me a long time to calm down,” she said.
Abel said she also has safety concerns about living on an upper floor.
“I asked what to do in the case of a fire, and I was told to go to the balcony and wave something white and somebody will rescue you,” she said.
When she asked a firefighter about that, she was told the department had just one truck for the area and that if it was busy, “you’re out of luck.”
But she said she feels like she has no other options.
“Move where? Where do you move?” she told Global News.
“Right now, the way the prices are, the way everything is, the elderly don’t have much rights.”
Dagenais pleaded for patience, saying there’s nothing the society can do to speed up the replacement part.
She said in the interim the society is working with multiple community groups to help residents.
It’s also getting ahead of maintenance on an elevator in another building it runs, in an effort to ensure no repeat of the outage.
“We are going to be more proactive on the next one,” she said.