An LA senior apartment elevator has been out of service for more than three weeks, forcing elderly residents—including some with limited mobility—to climb multiple flights of stairs just to leave or return to their homes.
The ongoing problem is affecting residents at the Bryson Apartments, located at 2701 Wilshire Blvd., near LA Koreatown.
The roughly 113-year-old building has 81 units across 10 levels, including a basement. Residents say about half of the units are occupied by Korean American seniors.
For those living on the upper floors, what might normally be a minor inconvenience has become a major disruption to everyday life.
“I live in a nine-story building, and when the elevator stops working, everything from grocery shopping to simply going outside becomes difficult,” said a Korean American senior who has lived on the seventh floor for about a year. “Climbing the stairs is so exhausting that once I come downstairs, I don’t even want to go back home.”
Both Elevators Are Out of Service
The building has two elevators, and residents say both are currently out of service.
According to tenants, one elevator has already been broken for nearly a year. The building’s remaining working elevator then stopped operating more than three weeks ago.
Residents said even before the latest outage, that elevator typically broke down two or three times a year.
The prolonged LA senior apartment elevator outage has created particular challenges for residents with mobility issues and those who require regular medical care.
Among those living on the upper floors is a patient who must regularly receive dialysis treatment, according to residents. With no functioning elevator, even essential trips to medical appointments or grocery stores require navigating multiple flights of stairs.
Caregivers Also Struggle With the Outage
The problem is also affecting caregivers who regularly visit elderly residents.
A 73-year-old caregiver identified by his surname, Heo, visits the building every day to assist a Korean American senior with limited mobility who lives on the eighth floor.
Heo said he has encountered repeated elevator problems during the three years he has been coming to the building.
“I have to go up and down the stairs at least twice a day to pick up prescriptions and buy necessities,” Heo said. “In the past, even when the elevator broke, it was usually repaired within a week. This time, it’s been more than three weeks, and we still don’t know when it will be fixed.”
Management Says Parts Are Difficult to Find
A notice posted near the elevator and reviewed by the Korea Daily states that delays in obtaining certain parts have prevented management from providing an exact date for restoration of service.
Management said it is working with the elevator repair company to complete repairs as quickly as possible.
The apartment’s management told the Korea Daily on Aug. 20 that the building’s age has made sourcing replacement parts particularly difficult.
“The building is old, so it takes time to obtain the necessary parts,” management said. “We expect the parts to arrive sometime this week, but the exact repair completion date depends on the service company.”
Until repairs are completed, residents on the upper floors of the LA senior apartment will have little choice but to continue relying on the stairs—turning routine errands and medical appointments into physically demanding trips.
