PEKIN, Ill. – It took five days to fix an elevator inside a Pekin apartment building that houses the elderly and people with disabilities.
With the elevator out of service at Golden Arms Apartments on S. 4th Street, some tenants with disabilities had to walk down several flights of stairs to get outside. Those in wheelchairs or those who rely on walkers, couldn’t leave at all.
Golden Arms Apartments is owned by the Pekin Housing Authority.
“I have seen people over this past week crying in the stairwells because they’re so stressed, because it’s so difficult for them to get up and down those stairs,” Jason King, a top-floor tenant who lives with cerebral palsy, tells 25 News.
On Monday morning, the elevator was fixed. But, King said the elevator had broken down several times over the past few months.
“You make a covenant with us. We’re going to pay you rent. You’re going to provide us with a safe and secure place to live. When our elevator is down, and we have to go down those stairs, that’s not providing a safe and secure environment,” King says.
Pekin Housing Authority Executive Director Dennis Green explained the situation to 25 News in a statement:
“The elevator service contractor addressed the problem on Friday and had the elevator back in service that afternoon. We were informed that the elevator went down again over the weekend. The contractor was back on the job this morning and has the elevator back in service at this time. The Pekin Fire Department was notified of the situation in the event that a resident needed assistance.”
King and other tenants say they are relieved to have the elevator up and working, but they hope it doesn’t break down again.
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