Residents at Liberty Pointe in Petersburg ‘stressed’ after months with no elevator

PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) -- Residents at the Liberty Pointe apartments in Petersburg are desperate for a solution to a monthslong elevator outage that management said is out of their control.

Residents met with state tenant advocates Tuesday, Jan. 13 to discuss their legal options, with no end in sight to an elevator outage that has forced them to take the stairs since October.

One resident, who asked to be anonymous, said she first had issues with getting to her apartment in August, when the elevator was broken.

"My grandkids and I were going down the steps," the resident said. "It rained all that day. We went down the steps and my right foot slipped."

She twisted her ankle that day, and said she had to get medical treatment.

She said the elevator was repaired later that August. But just a few months later, in October, a missing part forced the elevator to be taken out of service again, and it's remained that way ever since.

"When I get off from work and when I go to work, I think about those steps that and I have to climb up and climb back down. And I'm tired," the resident said.

She's had to rely on others to help her get groceries to her third floor apartment. She said others in the building are even worse off.

"A lot of people, some of them can't take the steps as well as I can," she said. "There's people up there that can't walk, with canes, and it's just a lot. It is. It's a lot. It's stressful."

8News reached out to Liberty Pointe's management company, Woda Cooper, who said in part:

"We regret that the elevator was removed from service due to issues with its Car Operating Panel. Unfortunately, we’re unable to control the availability of parts necessary to repair the elevator and are working closely with the vendor to expedite the repair process as quickly as possible."

Tenants are now working with Virginia's State NAACP and Virginia Organizing to find out what other action they can take to get results.

The resident we spoke to said she's looking for somewhere else to live. But until she can find that or until the elevator is repaired, she and other residents will have to continue taking the stairs, or be stuck in their apartments.