ALLIANCE, OHIO – Dozens of sick & elderly tenants who reside at the Lionel H. Newsom Tower Apartments in Alliance have been trapped since the evening of December 26th. The issue? The apartment elevator’s drive shaft apparently took a turn for the worse and has since gone without repair. “People are freaking out because they are not able to get out”, one woman who is healthy enough to make the climb up and down the stairs stated. “They are panicked and some couldn’t even get through to the fire station when they called.” she also went in to add.
A local church ‘Wells Springs’ brought staples to a few shut-ins. Being the end of the month many of the individuals who live at Newsom Tower Apartments rely on pantries, churches & places for food. The meal program at the apartment also hasn’t been delivered as of this writing. A dialysis patient had to be carried down 7 flights of steps and unfortunately the EMT’s gurneys could not go back up them – she has been unable to return. There are animals and people in wheel chairs whom are also trapped. One man is battling cancer and has medical appointments that he cannot make for his life-saving chemo treatments.
One woman who wished for her identity to remain anonymous out of fears of retaliation stated “I am shut out & I need my medicine. I will probably be evicted for raising concerns but I’m more worried about those in need. Please don’t post my name unless you absolutely have to.”
“I am shut out & I need my medicine.”
COBRA Says: These people are trapped in their apartments for more than 6 days and have been given the runaround. In some cases local restaurants and deliveries have even been refused to them. Someone should be held accountable for this insanity!
UPDATE 1/2/2019 @ 2:40pm: Approximately 24 hours after this story broke, Scumbagged spoke with the apartment manager ‘Kevin Jackson’ and he stated the following: “The elevator is currently in the process of being fixed, however I have no guarantees as to it being up and running today, although I have high hopes it will be.”
CRITICAL UPDATE 1/2/2019 @ 9:35pm: Elevator was not fixed for the tenants. Individuals are still stranded without food, medication or the ability to attend doctors appointments. Now entering day 7!
The Bottom Line
SCUMBAGGED Tip: Just because individuals reside in government/subsidized housing doesn’t mean that they should be treated with any lesser frequency than someone who does not. This sets a horrible precedent and standard for future issues regarding elevator failures at this apartment complex. This shouldn’t have been as prolonged in the first place and unfortunately it’s a case of “our tenants are of lesser value than others” mindset that saw this happen to begin with.
my cousin lived there and it was always breaking down even than and that was 15 yrs ago
In the time I have been here, this is the first time the elevator has had issues. This place is in otherwise excellent shape. I have no complaints.
Why is’t the city of Alliance doing something??? If there’s a fire, not many will survive.
It’s not up to the City of Alliance to fix things. It is being worked on. Nobody called the fire department from here.
In the event of a fire you can’t take the elevator anyway. Once the fire alarm sounds the elevator goes to the ground floor.
This isn’t the first time this has happened and unfortunately most likely won’t be the last. Most of the people living here rely on the elevator and cannot use the stairs. This is not an uncommon occurence here.
How dare you sensationalize this situation! I am a resident here and there are all good people here dealing with this problem. It’s not a simple fix where you can pop off to Lowe’s and get parts. These people are not trapped. I may have some mobility issues, but I can at least get down and out and back up. Slow and steady does it! People are being sincerely helped.
The main Crux of this problem is it happened around the holidays. And I seriously doubt the truth of some stuff you report of people saying things. There are parts truth and lies in your shameful article. Of the time I have been here, this is the first time the elevator had a problem. The people who run it are good people and I will not stand for anyone besmirching their reputation. Re-edit your trashy article to remove your entitled bias! Shame on you.
My best friend lives there, and his personal account directly rebuts this sham of an article.
He reports that there has been activity working on the problem consistently since the breakdown, but that parts for the older model elevator in this building are hard to come by, the building’s owners offered to put tenants up in a local hotel, and that the building manager has been diligent in keeping his tenants updated.
You can’t just go down to Lowe’s and grab parts for an elevator, especially an older model.
I personally was there yesterday, and I heard the building manager offering to help one older lady get up the stairs.
If there was a fire you could not use the elevator anyways.
we do appreciate that they are working on it, however to those trapped & becoming more depressed & anxious, this is serious to them! they should of never been able to pass an inspection without a plan B for the handicapped!!
Plan B for a multiple story building without an elevator is….stairs. There are professionals that can aid getting people down stairs.