DETROIT – Local 4 has obtained documents that expose the four Detroit apartment buildings with the worst elevator problems.
The most chronically broken elevators in Detroit also happen to be in buildings that serve the city’s most vulnerable residents.
If you live in a high-rise building, you constantly depend on elevators, and if they break down, you’re stuck.
Broken elevators are a frequent problem, and it’s not just an inconvenience. It could be a life-or-death safety issue.
Local 4 Investigative Reporter Karen Drew looked into the locations in Detroit where the elevators are broken most frequently.
This investigation began after a fire last month. An 86-year-old woman tried to take the stairs to escape the fire, and she was later found dead.
We don’t know why the woman took the stairs, but others from that building had called Local 4 in the past to tell us that the elevator was frequently out of order.
McFadden has lived in her Washington Boulevard apartment building in Downtown Detroit for 10 years, and she said the elevators have broken over and over.
“Oh, it affects me,” Karen McFadden said. “It affects me so much that I want to get out of here.”
“You know, I’m on the 16th floor. Sometimes I walk. By the time I get up there, I’m covered with sweat, because that’s 16 flights. Some people walk up, but some of them can’t walk.”
Jervalro Bester and his mother, Kisha Conley, moved into Bicentennial Tower apartments in Midtown about six months ago. Conley, who is recovering from a recent stroke, said broken elevators are a constant problem.
“The elevator is always going down,” Bester said. “They’ve always got an out-of-order sign on there.”
“That’s, like, really frustrating, because we have a lot of people in here that use wheelchairs and portable devices, and it’s hard for them, just in case the building may catch on fire or anything. It’s hard for people to get down the stairs, and it’s an ongoing thing with the elevators.”
Local 4 requested records from the Detroit Fire Department that show how often firefighters are called about broken elevators.
There were 439 total calls about malfunctioning elevators in the last year. Most were emergency calls for firefighters to rescue people from stalled elevators.
But of all the calls, four properties stood out as having the most.
The fire department received 12 calls about elevator problems from both the Washington Boulevard Apartments and Bicentennial Tower apartments in the past year.
Firefighters responded to calls about malfunctioning elevators 26 times at Young Manor on Grand Boulevard.
At the 8330 On The River apartments, the Detroit Fire Department was called for help with faulty elevators 16 times.
David Cleveland moved into 8330 On The River two months ago, and he said he’s already frustrated.
“It’s on and off with these elevators,” Cleveland said. “I’m in the chair. If the elevators don’t work, I’ve got to be able to get out.”
Clue Voorhees also lives there. He said he once helped an elderly neighbor who was desperate to get home while the elevators were broken.
“The elderly don’t deserve this,” Voorhees said. “She had a walker. I carried their walker, maybe seven floors, because the elevator wasn’t working.”
All four apartment buildings with chronic elevator problems are rent-controlled apartments for low-income residents, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Local 4 reached out to all four apartment buildings included in this story. A manager at just one of the four buildings -- at 8330 On The River Apartments -- was available and willing to talk with us.
The 8330 representative said, “we do have one working elevator at this time,” and insisted that fixing the elevators at the apartment building -- which provides low-cost housing for seniors and disabled residents -- is a “top priority.”
If you want to see the results of Karen’s full investigation, tune into Local 4 News at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
You can view the detailed records below and see if your home is on the list:
