HAVANA, April 28 (Reinaldo Cosano Alén) - There are 1,200 elevators in the Cuban capital, 508 in residential use and the rest in office and commercial buildings. Most don't work some of the time, many don't work at all.
UNISA, the government agency in charge of maintenance and repair of elevators, says that it cannot offer better service because it doesn't have spare parts or sufficient funds. Also, it says most of the elevators are 50 to 75 years old and they were made to have a service life of 15 to 25 years.
The stairways put in by architects as emergency exits have come into daily use. Usually they are narrow, dark, and inconvenient. The taller the building, the more unhappy the residents of the upper stories.
Residents of the 23-story building at 310 N Street, in the Vedado district complain. The building has two elevators. One was written off many years ago. The other was recently out of commission for 45 days. Once before, it was out for 90 days. 120 people live in the building, 35 of which are
older than 65, 15 are children. One resident said her daughter who suffers from chronic asthma had to be carried down many flights during an attack to be taken to the hospital.
UNISA tries to cope. 158 Consulado Street and 158 San Nicolás Street have new elevators; 310 M Street has one in good working order out of two it used to have. But these are only half measures. Sometimes the buildings themselves are in a sad state of disrepair. The government says is
doesn't have the resources to address the situation.
Versión original en español
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