Jan. 9—The city of Albuquerque shut down an East Central motel on Wednesday after finding numerous code violations, including no heat or plumbing in some rooms, a cockroach infestation and broken doors.
During a news conference Thursday, city officials said 19 people, 14 dogs and three cats were living in various rooms at the Loma Verde motel on Central NE, near Española.
Officials said all but one of the tenants, which included families and the elderly, had nowhere else to go and were given temporary housing by the city. With the owners’ go-ahead, the pets were taken to a shelter by animal control until their owners feel they can care for them.
“In many ways, this is a real sad reflection on what can happen, unfortunately. … These physical places that have become nests for all sorts of illegal, inappropriate and inhumane behavior,” Mayor Tim Keller said.
The city also shut down the nearby Tewa Lodge for similar reasons last year, as part of a crime-fighting and code enforcement operation that ended with police shooting a man who armed himself with a gun while handcuffed.
Drawing comparisons with the Tewa Lodge, Keller called the Loma Verde a “hotbed of criminal activity,” with 150 police calls, 40 arrests, two homicides, 12 robberies and four beatings reported last year.
Albuquerque police said officers came earlier in the week to clear the motel of criminal activity, and made a “number of arrests,” before code enforcement came in. No further details were given on the results of that police action.
Keller said the Loma Verde tenants were also being preyed upon by the owner, paying between $896 and $1,300 per month “for rent in dangerous living conditions.”
He said if the property owner cannot, or will not, fix the issues at the motel, the city can take another approach: condemn the property and bulldoze it. He said the ideal situation was to support the owner in renovating the motel and “making it an asset for the community.”
Alan Varela, director of the city Planning Department, said code enforcement showed up around 10 a.m. Wednesday.
“We knew there would be lots of problems, but it was beyond what we even imagined,” he said. “Within a few minutes … we could see that the rooms were entirely uninhabitable.”
The list of problems was long: exposed wiring, electrical hazards, broken smoke detectors, blocked exits, a leaking roof “and evidence of a roach infestation.” The city said hypodermic needles dotted the ground throughout the property.
“One problem after another,” Varela said. “Conditions that nobody should be living in and that no property owner, frankly, should (allow) to exist on their property.”
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said the crackdowns at Loma Verde and the Tewa are just the beginning.
“It’s my commitment to the city that we’re going to move to the next hotel, and then after that, we’re going to move to the next hotel,” he said. “So, if you are a hotel owner, and you have criminal activity that could be occurring there, eventually, I promise you we will get there.”
Keller had a message for motel owners who feel their property is becoming unmanageable: call us.
“If you feel out of control, like your hotel has been taken over by criminal elements, you’re unable to enforce your own rules, please contact our code enforcement and law enforcement right away,” he said. “We do not want to have to do this, but we absolutely will in these situations.”