The county closed a motel in a first tier suburb recently. To read this article in the local newpaper, it was all about physical issues with the building.
“A few days prior, they had a frozen sprinkler pipe that broke, and we were just confirming that it was repaired. During this confirmation, it was noticed that the pipe was repaired and their sprinkler system was fully operational, but they were using a space heater in that unit, which is not up to good fire standards,” he said. “We found many other items of concern.”
Berg reportedly discovered common areas and unoccupied rooms that did not have heat, dried vomit and blood splatter on the walls in the stairwell, clothes scattered throughout the property and other health safety concerns. He conducted the inspection alongside the city’s fire marshal.
“One of the biggest problems is that none of their exterior doors close and lock. Two of them don’t even close all the way,” he said. “We explained the importance of getting these exterior doors repaired so that they lock. Management said that they have, and they try, and within days that they are damaged by their guests so that they can allow access to others in and out of the hotel, bypassing the front desk.”
And some more stuff about ceiling tiles and a dumpster.
The article focuses on the decay of the physical attributes. While completely relevant, it minimizes the social explanation for the deterioration of the property. Towards the close of the article, for the readers that linger that long, there’s this:
Berg said the fire department had been called to the Travelodge once for a possible heart attack, once for a gas odor and four times to provide CPR in the past month. The Brooklyn Center Police Department, meanwhile, responded to 102 calls from the Travelodge between Jan. 9 and Feb. 6. One led to the arrest of a carjacking suspect.
“It’s the highest four-week total since at least 2015,” Berg said. “They responded to seven drug overdoses, and two of them were fatal.”
The first sign of social concern could happen anywhere— a patron has a possible heart attack. But then the true numbers surface with no additional descriptors- 102 calls to the police. One hundred and two. People doing stuff that warrants a formal intervention from municipal security.
It is reported this way because readers don’t want to dwell on it. Nor the seven suicides. We don’t talk about unattractive social factors. Which is OK as long as they show up somewhere. Otherwise everyone just pretends the issue is physical maintenance when that is only a frivolous sideshow to the real concerns associated with this particular property.
Home Economics 