By Mary O’KEEFE

The owner of the Honolulu Manor Senior Apartments has been given an extension to do the final repairs to the elevator at the complex.

The decision to give the owner an extension was agreed to by Judge Carolina Lugo on Nov. 21. Lugo is a new judge. In the past hearings Judge Beverly Bourne presided.

The City of Glendale brought criminal charges against Honolulu Manor owner Elias Shokrian and Montrose LP in June after residents reported to the city in May that both elevators in the complex had stopped working. But the problems actually began in October 2018 when the first of the two elevators broke down. At the time residents shared their concerns that if the other elevator broke down several of them would be trapped in their apartments because they could not navigate the building’s stairs. Then, over Memorial Day, the second, and only working, elevator stopped working.

At each court appearance since then the owner, and his representative, would explain how the repairs were being made, but somehow were never completed.

“[At this last court date] the judge was willing to give [Shokrian] an extension, and I was as well because of the progress we have seen,” said David Ligtenberg, Glendale deputy city attorney.

As of Nov. 21, the apartment complex had one fully functioning elevator, which is the one that had not been working since October 2018. That elevator has been repaired and did pass the city’s inspection. The second elevator though is not functioning.

The pretrial has been continued to Jan. 16.