Langley seniors trapped for months by broken elevator: ‘It’s pretty disheartening’

Residents of a Langley seniors’ apartment are speaking out after being left without a working elevator for months.

Global News first spoke with residents of The Fir at 54th Avenue and 204th Street in February, when the elevator had already been broken for a month.

Two months later, nothing has changed and the occupants say they’ve been told it could be weeks or even months more.

1:55 Residents frustrated over broken elevator at seniors housing complex

“It’s hard when … your legs don’t want to work,” said Glenn Piper, a second-floor resident.

“I have a friend on the third floor. She can hardly move if she goes out to go grocery shop, she’s dead tired when she gets home.”

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The building houses around 90 seniors and people with disabilities, many of whom have mobility issues and complex housing needs.

Sherin Munz, who uses a mobility scooter, says she hasn’t been able to use the building’s laundry facilities since January because the machines are on the second and third floors.

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“I can’t get upstairs to do it. I can’t get help. You phone them and you never get a phone back,” she said.

“Now I take it to my son’s because my son can carry it in, do the laundry and help me carry it back out.”

AJ Botel said the most frustrating thing has been the lack of communication and updates from the building’s operators, calling the situation “pretty disheartening.”

He said management had initially put up posters saying the elevator would be out for 16 weeks while they sourced parts — but they’ve since been removed.

“We’re an over-55 building and I would say 90 per cent of us use some kind of care aid like walkers or chairs or something,” he said.

“We’ve had people up there who have had to call the fire department to let them down.”

The Langley Lions Housing Society, which manages the property, has yet to respond to a request for comment.