Elderly residents furious over building's elevator repair project

CHELSEA, Manhattan (WABC) -- Residents of an apartment building in Manhattan are sounding the alarm over an elevator repair project.

Tenants are complaining that their six-story building on West 16th Street in Chelsea will have no elevator service for up to eight weeks while repair works is underway. Many of the residents are elderly and disabled and can't walk up and down the stairs.

Building managers are not providing the tenants with alternative housing, and they suggest residents who have difficulty using stairs should depend on the use of delivery services.

"There are people here who are seniors who can't walk up these stairs. You have incapacitated people who will be shut off entirely," says Chris Parkas.

"They tell you 'oh, why don't you get deliveries?' that's extra money coming out of people's fixed income pockets," added William Neilson.

The New York City Department of Buildings released a statement to Eyewitness News on Sunday night, saying it issued a permit for the elevator repair work. It said the building's elevator received had violations over the past year and a half.

The building's management has not responded to our request for comments.