Council to Decide Future of Hotel Plagued by Crime
The City Council today is scheduled to decide the fate of a hotel under fire from neighbors who say it is a magnet for crime.
The Lovitt Hotel was stripped of city permits at a Planning Commission hearing three months ago. The hotel’s owner, Rajendra Desai, has appealed the commission’s decision to the City Council.
A recent city report on the hotel said that between 1993 and 1997 there were 792 complaints made to 911 about the hotel, leading to 191 arrests for crimes ranging from prostitution to robbery. In the same period, the Fire Department responded 74 times, mostly to deal with drug- and alcohol-abuse victims.
Desai said he will show the council that he has improved the hotel and deserves his permit back. “Crime is down [in the area] because I changed all the clientele and renovated the place,” he said.
But the city’s staff has recommended that the council reject Desai’s appeal, according to Sharon Diggs-Jackson, head of the neighborhood nuisance abatement program.
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