Faith Martin, shopping on Temu while sitting in the La Quinta Inn lobby with Penn and Grice. Faith Martin has spent the last four weeks and five days in a fourth-floor hotel room, waiting for the city’s public housing authority to repair a broken elevator in the Annex building she has called h ome for 25 years. She misses trading home-cooked meals and hosting movie nights with her neighbors. Now, she spends her days in a single room with two tiny dogs, relying on her godsister for help when her spinal pain flares up. Martin, 55, is one of five mobility-impaired tenants living in La Quinta Inn on Sargent Drive after being displaced from Fairmont Heights, a low-income complex for the elderly and people with disabilities. The three-story building’s elevator broke on Jan. 25, according to Martin’s email records. After spending six days trapped in her apartment, Martin said she was relocated to La Quinta Inn. Fairmont Heights, a 98-unit complex located at 70 Fairmont Ave., is managed by a subsidiary of the Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH). The Independent spoke with three of the displaced tenants at La Quinta Inn, all of whom said the Housing Authority has not told them when they will be relocated or where they will live next. In an email to the Independent on Thursday, HANH President Shenae Draughn said repairs to the elevator should be completed within four weeks. In the meantime, she said, the affected tenants will be prioritized if HANH units comes online. Part of the challenge has been sourcing a vendor for new parts, said Draughn. While the maintenance company said the elevator could have been fixed, the repairs would not have produced “a long-term solution,” she said. “The Housing Authority is committed to prioritizing the well-being of our residents at Fairmont Apartments, especially during the current elevator outage,” Draughn wrote in an email statement. “We understand that accessibility is crucial, particularly for those navigating our three-story building. To address this, we have relocated families facing challenges with navigating stairs to a hotel, ensuring their comfort and safety.” On Wednesday, a manager at Fairmont Heights rejected the Independent’s request to take pictures of the broken elevator, saying photographs require approval from an executive office. “Nobody [from the Housing Authority] communicates to us,” Shelley White, a New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA) attorney working with Martin, said on Wednesday. While the tenants had been told at one point that they would be relocated to a complex in West Rock, “Now, no one seems to be sure, they don’t know where the units are, [and] they don’t know what’s going on there.” Martin and Penn have worked to make the hotel room feel cozy, buying flowers, cleaning products, and a blender. On Wednesday, Martin welcomed the Independent into her hotel room, where her godsister, Shartarra Penn, was studying for her real estate exam. The desk was crowded with medications and pantry staples, including canned vegetables, tea, and protein powder. Colorful dog toys sat next to a rickety nightstand. “They’re not listening to me,” said Martin. “I don’t know from day to day what’s going on with my apartment.” She most misses her neighbors, who knocked on her door daily and helped when she was in pain. But she also longs for simple things, like walking into her kitchen and boiling a cup of tea. Even before the elevator broke down, Martin, a professional caretaker, struggled to secure disability accommodations at Fairmont Heights. During a renovation in 2023, contractors removed the three grab bars that Martin needs to safely shower. She said management denied her request to install new bars, claiming the wall could not hold them. Penn said Martin now calls her through Facebook when she showers, just in case she slips and falls. “So when she’s done, she says, ‘Tara, I’m all finished,'” and hangs up the call, said Penn. Martin feels frustrated by the loss of her grab bars, especially given her $874 monthly rent — which she still pays, even while living at La Quinta Inn. “I’m giving [the Housing Authority] a good chunk of my money every month, not knowing if my home will be safe,” said Martin. “I’ve been asking for relief for something simple…but I can’t fix structural issues in the building.” On Thursday, Draughn told the Independent that she was not aware of Martin’s issue with grab bars at Fairmont Heights. An NHLAA attorney representing Martin submitted a request for grab bars on Oct. 2, according to emails acquired by the Independent. The Housing Authority responded two months later, saying Martin would be added to a transfer list because Fairmont cannot accommodate grab bars. Faith Martin with her dog named Puppy, who she adopted from her late mother. In the lobby of La Quinta Inn, Shirley Grice, 71, told the Independent that she shares Martin’s frustrations. Every Friday, a manager knocks on her door and tells her to check out of her room, said Grice. She then calls the Housing Authority and asks them to pay for another week at the hotel. Often, said Grice, they tell her that they already approved the extension, but there was a miscommunication with La Quinta Inn. If she lost her hotel room, “there would be nowhere for me to go,” said Grice. Her apartment at Fairmont Heights is located on the second floor, and with a walker, she struggles to climb the stairs. Her mobility issues also limit her activities at La Quinta Inn, which is located in a car-centric neighborhood with few restaurants and stores nearby. Without work or neighbors, Grice spends most of her time watching TV in the lobby. All the while, she still pays the Housing Authority $286 per month. HANH has been sending checks of $175 to the displaced tenants weekly, according to Martin and Grice. But neither received a check for the week of Feb. 23. “Unfortunately, we were made aware of the food voucher issue yesterday. As such, we will issue a doubled check to the affected residents on March 6,” Draughn told the Independent. Another displaced resident, an 81-year-old woman, invited the Independent into her seventh-floor hotel suite. After opening the door, she crashed on the couch, took a sip of water, and wiped sweat from her brow. Her room’s thermostat had been set to 81 degrees, but she couldn’t turn down the temperature with her walker. “I’m sick of [being] over here,” she said. “I want to be with my friends over at [Fairmont].” She said she has lived in Fairmont for 25 years. Since she moved to La Quinta Inn, the Housing Authority has been sending weekly checks for food. But without a car, she struggles to get groceries and purchase meals that meet her diabetes-related dietary restrictions. To make it through, “you need someone you know real well who will cook for you and bring you food,” she said. Luckily, one of her neighbors has been buying her groceries and helping her run errands, like going to the bank. She also has a hospital aide that sometimes visits. “It’s OK being in here as long as you have a TV,” she said. “But I want to go home.” Fairmont Heights is a three-story, 98-unit complex. Elmo played an important role in the note-taking process. The post Displaced Fairmont Tenants Wait Wait Wait For Elevator Fix appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less