PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Somewhere in Palm Beach County, an elderly or disabled individual is struggling on the stairs, breathing heavily after knee surgery, their elevator broken and not always repaired quickly.
I caught up with 87-year-old Jacob Sternberg, who took a spill on the stairs at Deauville Building E in Delray Beach in June when its elevator was out of service.
"I fell twice. One of the falls was half a floor. And I was in the hospital," Sternberg said.
After a brief hospital stay, Sternberg returned to his fourth-floor condo. The elevator still didn't work.
"This is a disastrous situation for us and especially when it lasts so long," Sternberg said. "I'm a Holocaust survivor. I'm a former Israeli paratroop officer. I'm not a victim. I'm just very mad."
I wanted to learn why so many elevators at condo complexes in our area break down and stay out of service for weeks or months.
According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the state doesn't keep statistics on elevator breakdowns, but it does keep track of how often elevators are inspected.
I crunched the numbers on 515 condos and apartments in our area listed as delinquent in their inspections in the state's elevator database. On average, these condo complexes average three years and three months without an inspection.
Managers of elevator service companies told me why repairs and installations take time. Part of the problem is the age of the elevators.
When I did my research, I found there are thousands of elevators in condos that are between 30 and 70 years old.
The elevator models aren't even made anymore. So, if a spare part is needed for repair, it could take weeks, even months to fix the elevator.
The other problem: one manager told me there's a severe shortage of elevator mechanics. As she put it, they're hard to find and harder to keep.
"With many industries and auto industries and things of that nature, we're not able to attract the same skilled mechanics and talent that used to be there," said Logan Ober.
Ober is an advocate for safe elevators and publishes the online elevator database of facilities in seven states, including Florida. He told me some condos don't perform preventative maintenance on their elevators.
"And that's where you're starting to see on these older elevators where they break down more often, because that quality of maintenance isn't there anymore," Ober said.
When I contacted the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation, a spokesman responded with the following by email:
"The agency has the ability to take action against an elevator that is operating with safety violations but, cannot take action against an elevator that is not operational."
That's of little comfort to those who need help.
"I can't even go to the doctor. I can't go downstairs or upstairs," said Anthony Molaris, when the elevator at his building broke down at a Palm Springs condo complex.
"My cardiologist said don't climb any stairs," said Guiseppe Mosconi, who lives next door to Molaris.
At Deauville E, I caught up with Laurie Dobrow who was relocating to North Carolina — a move made more expensive when movers learned they had to carry furniture down two flights of stairs.
"We've exhausted all of our chances, all of our resources, what are we supposed to do?" Dobrow said.
In the same complex, people in Building B said they went almost six months without an elevator.
"You can't go grocery shopping. It’s difficult to carry the stuff up the stairs," said Lenny Cohen.
I tried to get answers from the property managers by calling, emailing and even showing up in person. A voice on the intercom said there will be no comment.
As we were at Deauville Building B, an elevator inspector arrived. Both Deauville buildings now have working elevators, and skeptical condo owners wondering how long they'll work.
For this story, I gathered information on nearly 4,000 condominium elevators in Palm Beach County and along the Treasure Coast.
You can check the status and the most recent date of the elevator inspection on this spreadsheet:
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