Relief is setting in for the family of 11-year-old Gabe Gonzalez after an elevator at his Northeast Philadelphia school was repaired less than a day after Action News aired a story on his struggles.
Friday, May 15, 2026 9:24PMRelief is setting in for the family of 11-year-old Gabe Gonzalez after an elevator at his Northeast Philadelphia school was repaired less than a day after Action News aired a story on his struggles.
Contractors were seen outside William Ziegler Elementary School working on the elevator, which the school district said had been out of service for more than a month. The repairs came shortly after attention focused on Gabe's difficulty getting to his second-floor classroom. Gabe's mother, Estrellita Torres, said she had spent weeks trying to get the issue addressed. Her son has a rare genetic disorder and struggles to walk, making access to the elevator critical.
She even distributed fliers to draw attention to the problem.
"I'm very relieved, but I still find it a shock that, yesterday, the part wasn't even shipped out, and then it magically appears this morning? " she said. The school district confirmed that the necessary part arrived the same morning repairs were made, but did not provide further details. A previous statement from the district's chief operating officer, Teresa Fleming, outlined a different schedule.
According to that statement, a contractor was secured on April 16 to manufacture the replacement part. The part was completed on May 11 and was awaiting shipment, with plans to send it on May 18. Repairs were expected to be completed by May 22. Torres said she is grateful the elevator is now working, but questioned why it took so long to resolve.
"I don't want to seem like I'm complaining that it's fixed, because I'm not. I appreciate it, I got what I wanted, and it was fixed. But why did it take me taking it to the media?
" she said. She believes her son may have been forced to continue climbing to the second floor for the remainder of the school year if she had not pushed for action.
"They was putting him on the backburner. And a lot of special needs kids, they tend to get swept under the rug a lot," Torres said. With the elevator now repaired, Gabe no longer has to navigate the stairs to reach his classroom, bringing relief to his family after weeks of uncertainty.
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