A month-long trial: The six-storey building’s lift is unusable

Montreal North tenants are growing impatient with their landlord because the only elevator in their 91-unit building hasn’t been used for a month, complicating life for many with limited mobility.

“This is an emergency. Me, I walk with a cane, so go down, I can’t,” says Jeanette Bouchard, who lives on the fifth floor of the building on Avenue Gervais.

A 74-year-old woman suffering from two herniated discs and her neighbor’s life has been on trial for a month now.

At the beginning of December, a tenant violently attacked the door of the elevator, to the extent that it had to be replaced.

Since then, all residents of this six-storey building built in 1975 have paid the price following the act of vandalism.

Many people with mobility issues struggle to do their shopping and climb many flights of stairs.

“It’s hard, I have to admit, I want to cry. This can’t go on,” testified Carroll, 63, who relies on a neighbor to help him climb the stairs. “I’m confined to the house.”

Complex procedures

Inaccessibility of elevators complicates the work of first responders.

Paramedics have been called to the building on Avenue Gervais at least twice in the past two weeks.

They had to return to the stairs to put the 24-year-old woman on a stretcher.

“She screamed in pain. She vomited and had difficulty breathing. She is still in the hospital,” reports her father, who did not want to be identified.

The borough of Montreal-North said the situation was “worrisome”. Register that inspectors would be dispatched to the location “as soon as possible”.

“We will notify the building manager […] If there are any corrections to be made, it is added.

Replacement is immediate

HS Properties, which manages the building, says it has done everything it can to get a new lift door in as soon as possible.

He says he was able to find a company that could make a turnaround in three to four weeks, which was shorter than what another company offered.

James Miller, a representative for HS Properties, said he was confident repairs would be completed by the end of last week.

However, on Monday, the change was still not done, a resident told us.

“The lifts were modernized three or four years ago, all the equipment is new. The incident of vandalism is really unfortunate,” said Mr. Miller said.