BOISE, Idaho — The residents at the Idanha Apartments, located at 928 W Main St., in Boise, are once again dealing with a broken elevator. According to two people living in the Idanha, the external lift has been broken since the beginning of January.
"This is blatant ableism," Ahniah Selene, who relies on a wheelchair, said. "It's demeaning for me and us because we have no bodily autonomy to come and go as we please."
KTVB previously reported in 2017 that the inside elevator had been broken for better than a month, leaving some residents that needed wheelchair access or that were unable to walk up and down stairs, feeling trapped in the building.
Selene said they are unable to get out of the building independently and that they put in a maintenance request right after they noticed it was broken on Jan. 2.
Ed Simon, another resident who is a senior, said he has neuropathy in his feet, and although he is able to go up the stairs, it is very painful and time consuming for him.
"Sometimes I'm fine, other times I can barely get out of bed or walk," Simon said. "I have to get groceries up using the outside elevator and when it's out, I have to carry them up one bag at a time."
Unrelated to the elevator issue, Simon said that his air-conditioning unit was also out this past summer for four months, and he recorded the inside of his apartment reaching to 96 degrees.
KTVB called Tisha Bonney, from Parklane Management Company, who said that the residents aren't stuck because they can call the maintenance crew day or night and they will come and provide access through the freight elevator. However, Simon said that means that the person has to pre-plan for their exit or entrance and wait for the person to arrive.
Bonney said that the company completely understands their frustration and that they are frustrated too.
"We have to get some parts fabricated and we have to wait for those parts to arrive," Bonney said, "and then sometimes another problem arises, and we have to find another part to get shipped."
She said that the part they are currently waiting on could be shipped anytime from today until March 31, and then it will take time to install it. She added, that according to her understanding, only one resident is really affected, and they have been working with them, through the maintenance team, to get them in and out of the building.
The outside lift was installed around 1999 and Bonney said it makes sense that after all this time parts may need to be replaced.
"The moment it went down we've been trying to work on it," she said. "We understand how important it is for some residents, but we have to wait for the parts."
Simon said that he wouldn't use the freight elevator because, according to him, he would have to wait for upwards of 45 minutes for someone to come and let him in.
"No, I've just drug it up the stair, one by one," he said, "and they haven't even told me about the freight elevator and I haven't seen any notices about when the outside elevator will be fixed either."
He said his next-door neighbor uses a walker and has also been having a difficult time getting out of the building. According to Simon, his neighbor also hasn't been given a time frame for the fix.
"Years ago, when I first moved here, the inside elevator was broken for around six months, it has been an ongoing problem," Simon said. "The inside elevator was also out off and on a few months ago. I got trapped in it with my dog for like twenty minutes and it was really frightening, you think it might just start dropping."
He said he doesn't feel very respected as a tenant.
"I feel so bad for my other neighbors who have a harder time than me," Simon said. "I can still do things, even if it's hard, but without the elevator, there are at least two people that feel really trapped."
According to Bonney, residents can call maintenance anytime day or night for assistance.
"I, and others, are seeking reasonable accommodations, that have not been met, as of yet," Selene said. We are trying to work with Parklane Management."
The community had a small protest of the conditions on Thursday, March 2 at 5:00 p.m. in front of the Idanha building. The flyer for the protest stated that, "accessibility is a human right."
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