Tenant who uses wheelchair says Evansville complex left residents stranded over Christmas

EVANSVILLE — Megan Seiler made it to Christmas with her family this year, but only after her father carried her down three flights of stairs.

The 21-year-old, who was born with Spina Bifida and uses a wheelchair, moved into the newly built Central Lofts in the old Downtown Evansville YMCA in April. But in the nine months she's lived there, Seiler told the Courier & Press the elevator has been out of order multiple times.

Most recently it stopped working on Dec. 17, and as of the afternoon Dec. 29, it was still out of order due to a circuit board issue.

That left some tenants stuck in their apartments for Christmas Eve and Christmas, Seiler said. Days away from New Years Eve the elevator still hasn't been fixed.

"Not just me but anyone who uses a wheelchair has not had access to transportation," Seiler said. "We can't access transportation, we can't access groceries (or) medications. Someone's medical supplies sat in the lobby for three days."

The onsite management company, Crestline Communities, did not return a call from the Courier & Press.

Seiler chose the Downtown Evansville apartments for many reasons. It's her first time living away from home, and the revamped YMCA building was close to the METS station and many restaurants, had an elevator and put her new home only blocks away from her mother's work.

All of those things are important for Seiler. Due to her Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele, she has used a wheelchair since she was 2 years old. She's used to working around things that are inaccessible to her, so accessibility weighed heavily into her decision where to live.

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It was also new downtown location that was affordable, she said. Instead, it's turned into a struggle.

Touted by local government as a step to diversify housing options downtown by opening an option to those with lower incomes, Central Lofts opened to much fanfare. The city was a "major financial partner" due to TIF funds provided to the project, according to an April news release from Mayor Lloyd Winnecke's office.

A part of the Promise Zone, the project benefited from over a $1 million in tax credits. The YMCA originally opened in 1914, which also allowed Federal Historic Tax Credits to help fund retention of some of its features.

“The Grand Opening of Central Lofts demonstrates the commitment of the city and its partners to affordable housing and the preservation and redevelopment of Downtown Evansville,” Winnecke said at the ribbon cutting. “Through public-private partnerships with AP Development and others, great things are happening for the City of Evansville and its residents.”

No emergency plan in place for residents

The lack of elevator access for over a week has led Seiler to think about what would be done in an emergency situation.

Emails Seiler provided to the Courier & Press show she reached out to management to ask if there was a policy for Central Lofts that included an emergency evacuation plan for people with disabilities when the elevator is not working, during either medical emergencies or natural disasters.

Seiler was told there is not a plan specifically designed for "differently abled residents."

"I am not permitted to instruct differently abled residents on how to exit the building as all differently abled residents have specific individual needs and I am not a licensed medical professional," the property manager told Seiler in one of the emails reviewed by the Courier & Press. "Differently abled residents are encouraged to determine their own needs in the event of an emergency."

The manager also told Seiler the elevator wouldn't operate in the event of a building emergency.

"As always, we encourage residents to contact 911 in the event of an actual emergency, medical or otherwise," the manager wrote said.

Ben Trockman said this aspect of the situation at Central Lofts is part of what concerns him the most. The First Ward city councilor, who also uses a wheelchair, first reached out to the Courier & Press Thursday, and later that day connected a reporter with Seiler to talk more about the issues.

While Trockman knows rules are different for employers versus an apartment complex, he detailed the emergency plan in place during his previous employment at Old National Bank.

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His immediate team knew the evacuation plan, which included specific coworkers who would lift him from his wheelchair onto a Med Sled. The Med Sled was always on hand, and is designed specifically to transport individuals down a stairwell in order to exit a multi-floor building.

Trockman said he hadn't thought about it from the perspective of Seiler's situation: a young person moving into an apartment building for the first time and later being told by management they would need to figure out an emergency by themselves.

So even when the elevator is fixed for regular, everyday use, there will still be lingering questions on how an emergency would be handled. Seiler said she believes there are around 10 additional wheelchair users in the building, as well a handful of others who do not use a wheelchair but have a disability.

The broken elevator is not just a safety issue, Seiler said. It's also about allowing people to be a part of their community.

"There are quite a few of us who rely on the elevator to go even throughout the facility in which we reside," she said. "We can't even leave our floor. We're stuck on our floor."

Spending Christmas alone or risking her safety

According to emails between Seiler and management, the elevator's circuit board issue has been known since at least Dec. 23, and one was ordered to the elevator company's shop.

"However, it is important to note that due to the weather and the location of our elevator service company (Louisville, Ky), this repair is not likely to occur until travel is safe for their technicians," management stated in an email. "Due to inclement weather – I am unaware of that timeframe. This is the most-likely status of the elevator for several days."

That same note was sent again Dec. 27 when Seiler inquired about the fix. On Thursday, Dec. 29, management said the elevator company was scheduled to be onsite by the end of the day.

Not wanting to be stuck in her apartment for Christmas, Seiler reached out to management with a request for a hotel room. That's an option, under the Fair Housing Act and Americans With Disabilities Act, for possible accommodations in the case of a broken elevator.

Seiler was told that request had to be sent to corporate, and as of Thursday evening she had not been given a timetable on if it would be granted or denied. She was given a decrease in rent, which she'll see in her January bill.

While grateful for that, her issues didn't stem from a loss of income, but from not being able to leave to make appointments or run normal errands.

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"I asked for something that would help," she said. "What I got was not what I needed."

So instead of leaving a hotel, or even a possibly open apartment on the first floor, Seiler's dad carried her down three flights of stairs so she could come to family Christmas.

There are safety issues with this. She's an adult, so it's not like her father was carrying a newborn, Seiler said.

The stairs also were not clean, she said. They were covered in snow and debris from the weather.

"The fact that my options were either to stay stuck or to risk being carried down stairs that had snow and dirt on them, it bothers me," she said. "Because while yes it worked out fine, it could have ended very differently."

She also knows others in the building who use wheelchairs sat alone in their apartment on Christmas Day.

"No one really batted an eye about it," she said. "The holidays are hard for some people and being stuck and confined can make it even harder because you don't get to be out with the people you love and care about."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Tenant: Broken elevator left disabled Evansville residents stranded