INDIANAPOLIS — It has been eight months since an elderly couple who lives along Emerson Avenue complained to the Mayor's Action Center that a snow plow damaged the end of their sidewalk.
A large piece of concrete is lying in their grass, and now they are begging the city to come out and fix it.
Bennie and Judy Napier moved into their east side home 60 years ago.
"When we moved here we were the youngest couple now we are the oldest couple," Bennie said.
Judy uses a walker to get around, which is why their broken sidewalk is an issue they need fixed, especially before the winter.
"We need the sidewalk if the alley is blocked off with snow," Bennie said. "I can clean the front walk off and get my wife down there and get in the car. The way it is, I can't do that.
Bennie's nephew, Phillip McIver, is trying to help.
"It makes me feel bad because he is frustrated," McIver said. "He don't need to be frustrated about something like that. When they need something, I come over here."
McIver said the frustration comes because Bennie and other family members have complained about the sidewalk to the Mayor's Action Center since Jan. 24.
"Called back Aug. 14, called back Sept. 24. And my cousin called every day last week and nothing has happened, and that's why we called (RTV6)," McIver said. "It doesn’t look like a big thing, but it’s a big thing for my aunt because if she can’t get out she is just stuck then. If she needs to go to the doctor she needs to be able to get out. This is their back up sidewalk to get out.
For the Napiers, the frustration has built for eight months.
"Oh, yeah. That's too long," Bennie said. "I'm 84. I might not be around very long."
The Mayor's Action Center said they have sent three escalation emails to the Department of Public Works asking for a timeline on when it will be fixed. The most recent was last Friday.
"It just bugs him that he calls down there and they don't want to take care of him he is a veteran he served his country, and now he needs them to serve him and they are not helping him," McIver said.
We took the family's concerns to DPW, asking when the sidewalk will be fixed. A spokeswoman said they sent a crew out to inspect the sidewalk, and it is now scheduled to finally be repaired Thursday.
