{"id":461321,"date":"2026-09-12T05:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T05:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/461321\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T05:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T05:18:09","slug":"fresno-apartment-managers-say-equipment-delays-stall-fixing-broken-elevators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/461321\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno apartment managers say equipment delays stall fixing broken elevators"},"content":{"rendered":"

FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Tenants at a Fresno apartment complex say months without reliable elevator service have left some struggling to get in and out of their homes, while property management says repeated vandalism and delays in obtaining specialized parts have kept repairs from being completed.<\/p>\n

The Link at Blackstone is an apartment complex that houses many elderly and disabled people, making it difficult for them to use the stairs. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t sleep at night because I’m being so much pain,\u201d Felicia Mack, a neighbor at the complex, told FOX26 News in August. <\/p>\n

[RELATED] Fresno complex elevators down for months, leaving disabled residents stranded<\/a><\/p>\n

Donnie Shouse, also a neighbor, said he just wanted the elevators fixed.<\/p>\n

Property management told FOX26 the problem of fixing the elevators goes beyond the complex, citing national challenges in elevator repairs.<\/p>\n

According to Adams Elevator Equipment Company,<\/a> include aging parts, stricter compliance codes and higher prices all factor into the difficulty of fixing elevators. <\/p>\n

Management said it is still waiting on specialized parts to complete repairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOwnership and management have consistently acted with urgency, invested substantial resources, and kept all stakeholders informed about the ongoing vandalism to the elevators on this property. We will continue to do everything within our control and our resources to restore and maintain reliable elevator service for the community,” Ed Cafasso, a spokesperson for the complex, said in a statement. <\/p>\n

Cafasso said that since January, the property\u2019s two elevators have been vandalized several times, prompting more than $172,000 in repairs, with costs expected to rise as additional repairs are completed. <\/p>\n

He said hundreds of hours of staff time have been redirected to managing the incidents, including assisting residents, coordinating repairs, documenting events and communicating with the city, the city attorney, code enforcement and state housing inspectors.<\/p>\n

He also described the vandalism as including ripping out control panels, damaging elevator doors, kicking and punching floor buttons, jumping in elevator cabs and triggering emergency stop mechanisms. <\/p>\n

The first of two January vandalism incidents, Cafasso said, damaged the doors to Elevator One so severely that residents were trapped inside and had to be rescued by firefighters.<\/p>\n

He then said Elevator Two\u2019s floor button panel was vandalized in April.<\/p>\n

Within days of that elevator being restored to service in May, its control panel was ripped out. <\/p>\n

Since that May incident, Elevator Two has been restored to service twice, only to be disabled by vandalism again each time.<\/p>\n

Management said it is working with its elevator vendor to complete remaining repairs and hopes to return at least one elevator to service soon, but said timelines depend on the availability, delivery and installation of specialized replacement parts.<\/p>\n

Cafasso said that while security cameras are installed throughout the property, they do not capture every instance of vandalism, and that the installation and 24\/7 monitoring of additional cameras would cost between $3,000 and $4,000 per month.<\/p>\n

He also said a standing reward remains available for evidence identifying those responsible, and that ownership and management are prepared to press charges and pursue eviction proceedings when appropriate.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny suggestion that repairs are being unreasonably delayed does not reflect the facts,\u201d Cafasso said.<\/p>\n

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz said in May that the property has been keeping the city informed and that the city has enforcement options if it does not. <\/p>\n

[RELATED] City attorney helping with elevator inspections at affordable housing complex in Fresno<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe would issue the progressive fines and if we get to a certain point, there’s an ability for us to issue daily fines,\u201d Janz said.<\/p>\n

Management also addressed concerns involving a disabled military tenant, Jonathan Waltiere, who has been staying in a hotel because of the broken elevators. <\/p>\n

Waltiere did not receive an eviction notice but rather a rent notice, according to information confirmed in the update. <\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Waltiere is not and has never been at risk of being evicted. The notice he received was standard notice that all residents receive at the start of the month when rent is due,” Cafasso said.<\/p>\n

He said management staff has spoken with Waltiere almost every day during his hotel stay, and that Waltiere’s hotel costs are being paid by ownership until he is able to return to the property. <\/p>\n

Cafasso said Waltiere has expressed his appreciation for the support he has received<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Tenants at a Fresno apartment complex say months without reliable elevator service have left…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-461321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}