Disabled residents at a Bridgeport public housing complex say they are trapped in their upper-floor apartments because their elevator is broken.

Maria Carrasquillo, a 48-year-old grandmother who works full-time at a local senior citizens community and lives on the fifth floor, says it has been very difficult trying to take care of her granddaughter, who is in her custody.

Carrasquillo says she walks with a cane and has not been able to use the elevator in building No. 5 in the Green Homes Community on Washington Avenue for a week and a half. She says she feels like a prisoner in her home, and that it is impossible for some residents to get basic things like medical care, food and other essentials.

Edna Berrios also walks with a cane and says getting up and down the stairs is exhausting.

Bridgeport Housing Authority officials have apologized for the problem and say they are treating the situation as an emergency.