BED STUY, Brooklyn (PIX11) \u2014 Tenants in Brooklyn\u2019s Tompkins Houses are dealing with a broken elevator and\u00a0intermittent utility outages that they said are impacting their quality of life.<\/p>\n
Residents living on the 12th floor of the building at\u00a0760 Park Avenue tell PIX11 News that the broken elevator has left elderly tenants and those with serious health conditions either trapped in their apartments or forced to climb multiple flights of stairs to get home.<\/p>\n
More Local News <\/a><\/p>\n Stephanie Shiloh-Branch uses a walker and said navigating her building has become nearly impossible.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times I have to go stay with family because of the elevators,\u201d said Shiloh-Branch.<\/p>\n She added, \u201cI miss doctor\u2019s appointments. If I want to go shopping, I miss all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Fantah Baker has congestive heart failure and said climbing a dozen flights of stairs makes it difficult for her to leave her home for medication or doctor\u2019s appointments.<\/p>\n \u201cI have asthma-related symptoms to my congestive heart failure that \u2014 it\u2019s difficult,\u201d Baker said. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult, being that I\u2019m here by myself, and I do have a home health aide that comes, but it\u2019s really difficult when you\u2019re disabled, and you need something when she\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n Make PIX11 your preferred news source on Google: Here\u2019s how <\/a><\/p>\n According to residents, the situation has been compounded by intermittent outages of gas, heat, and electricity. They said their stairwells, apartments, and hallways had been pitch black since Thursday, forcing them to use flashlights until a temporary generator was brought in on Friday.<\/p>\n Con Edison said melting snow mixed with road salt made contact with electrical equipment underground and led to the outage.<\/p>\n Due to gas issues, Evelyn Ortega uses a single hot plate when her power is up and running, but said it makes it hard to cook large meals for her family.<\/p>\n \u201cI take off the beans, put the rice, then take that off \u2014 fry or cook whatever I\u2019m going to cook of meat. That\u2019s not fair,\u201d Ortega said.<\/p>\n