The elevator in the apartment complex above the Nieuwe Kolk in Assen has been broken for six weeks. The residents of the Keerweer cannot use the lift, which has far-reaching consequences.
The elevator started rattling and squeaking noises a month and a half ago. The residents of the complex did not trust it and did not dare to enter the elevator. According to them, a woman even tripped out of the elevator because the elevator stopped at the wrong height.
The elevator was therefore completely out of action last Tuesday. “According to the mechanic it was life-threatening,” says Gerrit Jan Bruggink, a member of the residents’ committee and who lives on the second floor.
The residents are very upset. So is Johan Kuipers, who lives on the fourth floor with his wife. “My wife has COPD and is a heart patient and therefore cannot easily climb stairs,” says Kuipers. “And what if someone has a heart attack and has to be rushed to the hospital? Then you have nowhere to go. This can no longer be the case.”
His neighbor, the 89-year-old Mrs Versteeg, is also full. She doesn’t leave her house anymore and the neighbor collects the mail for her. “I feel trapped in my own house,” Versteeg says sadly.
Several technicians have now visited the complex, but they were unable to solve the problems. This is because new parts are needed. “The mechanics are waiting for parts to be ordered by the Actium housing corporation. But nothing happens,” says Bruggink.
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