Bronx building with 250 apartments down to 1 working elevator

TREMONT, Bronx (WABC) -- Elevators are the lifelines for folks who live in a vertical city like New York, so when they don't work for months at a time, residents in apartment buildings suffer.

Now, one building in the Tremont section of the Bronx is showing just how bad a situation can get.

When Luke Johnson and his neighbors need to take the elevator in their building, it's not a simple push of a button. Instead, they have to call building security to come get them.

Residents at 2111 Southern Boulevard say for the last five months, the elevators have been breaking down. Currently, they're down to one in a building with nearly 250 apartments.

"The elevators is always broken, and old people be standing downstairs with their wheelchairs for hours and hours and hours," resident Teresa Cummings said. "It don't make no sense, one elevator when you have three elevators."

Building management declined to comment when Eyewitness News called for an explanation and to ask what they planned to do to remedy the problem.

"Look at how dark it is," one resident said. "You can get raped, mugged, everything."

Tenants say they're afraid to take the stairs. Tanya Collazo lives on the 31st floor and says its unreasonable for her constantly make the climb.

"I have chronic asthma," she said. "Sometimes I have to take the stairs because there be too many people waiting for the elevator. You get into arguments, because people want to get to their homes, especially when kids got to get to school and rush hour. Today I was waiting three hours to get the elevator."