Tenants at 1853 Anthony Ave. say they’ve been without a working elevator for three weeks —and it’s not the first time.
They say the elevator regularly goes out for weeks at a time, forcing residents to climb up and down 10 flights of stairs. And for those who have disabilities, the stairs aren’t an option, so they’re confined to their own homes.
“I’m a prisoner,” said resident and veteran William Thompson.
Thompson uses a motorized chair.
“I've missed so many doctor's appointments, I missed surgery … It's really diminishing my quality of life, which is diminished already," he says.
Class 1 violations, also known as immediately hazardous violations, are the most severe an owner can get and require immediate correction with penalties ranging from $1,000 to $25,000.
The DOB told News 12 over email: “DOB elevator inspectors were on scene at this location [Monday] afternoon, and we have issued orders to the landlord to immediately take steps to return the elevator back to safe working service as soon as possible. We will be following up with the landlords and their contracted elevator maintenance agency on the status of these repairs … If the landlords fail to have the elevator repaired, they can be subject to additional DOB enforcement actions.”
News 12 is awaiting a response from Wavecrest Management. Wavecrest has previously been the subject of News 12
coverage for other housing issues.