City moves to classify motel a public nuisance
Police called to Sahara Motel in SE Albuquerque hundreds of times
In February of last year, a man was shot and killed over a suspected drug dispute at the Sahara Motel in Southeast Albuquerque.
After responding to a domestic dispute there in March, police discovered two children living in a room there with no beds, working refrigerator, food or water, according to court documents.
In April, police responded to a call from the motel’s manager requesting help in removing
“unwanted individuals” inside Room 208. Upon entering, officers found multiple people inside along with syringes, hand torches, empty baggies and charred tinfoil scraps littering the floor.
City officials say dead bodies, domestic violence, theft, shootings, drug use and vandalism are among the reasons the Sahara Motel on Gibson Boulevard near San Pedro received 400 calls for service throughout 2016 and 2017, and why the city is beginning legal proceedings to declare the property a public nuisance.
“When the community and APD alerted me of the problems that persist at the Sahara Motel, despite multiple attempts to work with the owner, I knew we needed to take fast and drastic action,” City Councilor Pat Davis, in whose district the motel is located, said in a news release. “Working with Safe City Strike Force, the City Attorney’s Office, and the Mayor’s Office we built the case to declare this property a public nuisance, a step rarely taken, but one needed to force action in this situation.”
In addition, the city is seeking the appointment of a receiver — a person unconnected to and independent of the owner — who will bring the building into compliance with the city’s nuisance abatement ordinance over a period of up to three years.
At that point, control would be returned to the owner.
If the property is declared a public nuisance, all residents will be expected to vacate the property.
According to a news release from the city, the city will offer housing vouchers to those who are in need and work with St. Martin’s to relocate those displaced.
“We’re all afraid we’re going to end up on the street,” resident Janette McClelland said.
McClelland, 56, has lived at the Sahara for around five years and pays $150 weekly.
“For the first two, two-anda-half years it was good,” McClelland said.
She said it seemed to decline starting a couple of years ago when “riffraff” started moving in.
The owners began renovating the motel in August but never finished, McClelland said.
While a bedbug problem was taken care of, she said the place is currently infested with rodents.
“I’d like to see someone come in and fix the building up,” she said. “There are some very good tenants here.”
According to documents filed by the city last week in state District Court, Xiao Ming Gong is the owner of the property.
A number listed for the motel was disconnected.