Dakota Crescent’s elderly got a fresh start in new flats. For some, it came at a cost

But, because the many years glided by, the property was overshadowed by the newer high-rise HDB flats and condominiums. It started to point out its age, with the lifts breaking down and enormous rats – virtually the scale of small cats, Jamaluddin insists – scampering by means of the grounds.

It was a actual inconvenience to residents like James Fun, 65. He lived on the seventh flooring of block 28 and after he misplaced a leg in 2013, wanted a wheelchair to get round. The elevate didn't cease on his flooring. So generally, he mentioned with a chortle, his spouse and a pal would assist him climb the 2 flights of stairs up from the elevate touchdown on the fifth flooring. 

Other instances, he was not so fortunate.

“I would have to sit on each step and go up step by step,” he recalled. The elevate, he added, was usually out of order, however as a result of it was so outdated, spare elements had been onerous to return by. 

“There was one time I waited the whole morning, and they couldn’t get it done. Eventually, I was carried up.”

With the assistance of HDB, he later moved to a ground-floor unit. It was windy and peaceable, he mentioned, with the Geylang River at his doorstep and a courtyard the place he may domesticate crops.

GALLERY: THE OLD DAKOTA CRESCENT