Greece, N.Y. — Town leaders voted unanimously Thursday to temporarily close a controversial motel to address reported ongoing health and safety concerns.
Dozens of taxpayers filled the Greece Town Hall to share their thoughts on the Studio 6 Extended Stay off West Ridge Road, which is under new ownership.
“I’ve been there for 10, 11 years, the constant police presence, fire departments, ambulances,” Lucille Delvecchoo, a Greece taxpayer, said. “And I’m just wondering what you plan on doing.”
The Town of Greece says that so far this year, there has already been more than 300 911 calls regarding the property, outpacing all other hotels in the area.
Some neighbors claim it’s been plagued by safety concerns for years and want to see it close for good.
“The violence, there’s frequent fighting,” said taxpayer Betty Mykins. “People are out all hours of the evening, a lot of drugs are going on. There’s children running around unattended. The noise, it’s enough to drive you a little bit crazy.”
The new owners say that since taking over, they’re already trying to address concerns, but they need more resources.
“The prostitution thing. The crime in itself. I’m not going to sit here and say I can solve that, but I need the town’s help on that,” said owner Lamar Glass.
Reps say they’re already working on partnering with federal agencies to train staff to recognize problems.
“We need to be the ones, if we see something, we need to say something, we need to alert the city that we are seeing it,” Glass said. “We’re not just sitting back in the office typing on computers. So understand those resources to get all these bad actors out of this hotel.”
Town leaders ultimately decided to temporarily close the property.
“Given the health and safety concerns raised this evening by the public, town staff and this board, to protect the public and to assist the applicant complete its corrective measures and complete the pre-permit inspections, I move that the hotel cease business operations as of Monday, June 29 at 9 a.m. and remain closed until a special permit is granted by this board,” Councilmember Spencer Bernard announced.
“I think this is a very prudent move on our part, and, gentlemen, we want you to be successful, we want you to run a business that is worthy of the town and worthy of the neighborhood, Town Supervisor Jeffery McCann. “Our police department is committed to give a very special attention to this because there are going to be issues with a closed building there, and we’re going to do everything we can to stay on top of it, but we also want to work in partnership with the owners.”
Reps from Studio 6 say they’re committed to making this a property the town can be proud of.
Town leaders say another public hearing is scheduled for July 16 to allow time for the owners to address the remaining fire and health code violations and for the Fire Marshal and building inspector to complete their permit inspection of the property.
MORE: ‘Sketchy’: Greece Councilmember talks controversial Studio 6 motel issues | Couple demands nearly $500 deposit refund from troubled Greece hotel
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