A five-month elevator outage at a Honolulu apartment building has created significant challenges for the mostly senior residents, many of whom rely on walkers and motorized wheelchairs.

The situation began in October, when water from a boiler room on an upper floor of Malulani Hale flooded both the main passenger elevator and the secondary service elevator. Both had been renovated in the past two years.

While the property management company was able to get the service elevator in the 16-story building on N. Kuakini St. up-and-running the next day, the main elevator has remained out of commission ever since.

Michele Aiwohi, who lives on the fourth floor, said residents are reluctant to squeeze into the smaller elevator that, at best, fits six people if they are standing. Anyone who uses mobility aids may have to wait for three or four trips to pass before there’s room. People miss connections with the county HandiVan, which will only wait five minutes for a booking. Deliveries and apartment move-ins and move-outs have become a lot more complicated.

Katharina O’Connor, 76, who lives on the ninth floor with her 93-year-old-mother said the outage has added wait times for EMTs responding to medical calls. And when some residents have passed away at home in the past few months, first responders have faced an unusual problem.

The service elevator is too small for the ambulance gurney they use to move the departed if they are lying flat, O’Connor said. So the deceased have had to leave their final home strapped in standing upright. 

Elevator repairs in Honolulu are notoriously slow, and there’s currently no timeline for when the Malulani Hale’s will be fixed. Nolan Zane, with property manager Urban Real Estate Company, said he understands the disruption and that, unfortunately, a resolution is months away at the earliest.  

“Does it suck that the main elevator is broken?” Zane asked. “Absolutely, but we’re trying our best.”

Right now the company is researching a couple of solutions and has brought in an elevator consultant, who has been discussing an expedited plan with the building’s insurer and elevator service company.

But “even if we started from scratch today to replace it, it would be another year before the elevator would be back up and running,” Zane said, by the time parts are made, imported and installed.

He’s hopeful it won’t take that long.

Who To Contact

Nolan Zane, property manager for Malulani Hale at the Urban Real Estate Company. (808) 351-3923.

Fix It!

Fix It! is a reader-driven column focused on solving everyday obstacles — the inoperable and the inefficient amenity, the mundane and major facility fail that escapes the attention of government agencies, but affects our quality of life.

Read More

Got A Tip For Fix It!?

Please tell us where the problem is, as specifically as possible. A cellphone photo would be helpful. Here are ways to get in touch:  

You can submit in minutes using this form. 

You can send us an email at news@civilbeat.org. Put “Fix It” in the subject line so it doesn’t get lost.

You can send a letter to the newsroom at PO Box 10857, Honolulu, HI 96816.

We won’t use your name without your permission but, if we pursue your fix, we will get back to you with what we find.