20-05-2025
Broken elevator prevents disabled woman living on top floor from access to outside
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A Chesapeake woman in a wheelchair has been stuck on the top floor of a four-story hotel for more than a month due to a malfunctioning elevator.
The Pattons are staying on the top floor of the four-story Woodspring Suites Extended Stay hotel, which hasn't had a working elevator since April 10, and is the last time Joy Patton was outside because she is in a wheelchair and can't make it to the ground floor.
Every day since then, her husband, Matt Patton, walks up and down the stairs 'five to six times' a day to get on his bike to run errands while his wife, Joy, remains upstairs.
'I have depression, anxiety, PTSD, [and] I have zero cartilage in either hip,' she said. 'I have arthritis in my knees and my ankles that are degenerative. Just a disease in my spine in Stage 3, and going on Stage 4 for congestive heart failure.'
The Pattons say there's been a 'out of service' sign on the elevator on the first floor since April 10.
In the fourth-floor room where the couple lives, Joy Patton is frustrated and hurt, having not been outside in 40 days.
'Right now, if I could get away with strangling somebody right now, I would do it,' Joy Patton said.
The Pattons said hotel management has not been helpful.
'it is an inconvenience,' Joy Patton said. 'They should be lowering the rate or offering a free room for the inconvenience, or just some kind of something, you know.'
10 on Your Side went to the front desk and spoke to someone who identified herself as the manager, but wouldn't tell us her name. When told Joy Patton hasn't been outside since the elevator breakdown, the manager replied, 'Is that so?'
Asked if she feels the pain she has, the manager changed tone and said, 'Absolutely.'
'I feel stuck, I feel trapped, I feel like a hostage,' Joy Patton said. 'I would say a prisoner, but prisoners get to go outside every once in a while, and get fresh air.'
Asked if the couple should get some kind of financial relief for the inconvenience, the manager responded by saying 'I can't give you any information at this time. We are in the process of getting it taken care of.'
They said they cannot move somewhere else because of the cost.
The Pattons also point out the major painting renovation outside, saying if they're going to spend money on fixing it outside, they want it fixed inside, too, so people can come and go easily.
The city of Chesapeake responded to a 10 On Your Side inquiry, stating 'Notice of violation was delivered to management … on April 29. … Hotel given to May 29 to repair elevator.'
'We just wanted somebody to hear us because we've been contacting, you know, Americans with Disabilities, Chesapeake Code Enforcement, the fire marshal,' Joy Patton said.
According to the Fair Housing Act, for an elevator breakdown, the landlord may be obligated to provide a 'reasonable accommodation' to ensure equal housing. … This could include temporary relocation … to ground floor.'
10 On Your Side pointed this out to hotel management, asking if there was any way to get the Pattons to a first-floor room.
The hotel's response: 'No comment. We are working on it.'
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