Motel 6 suing Piscataway over new ordinance aiming to crack down on crime at hotels
Police have responded to numerous 911 calls at the motel
PISCATAWAY, New Jersey (WABC) -- A motel in Piscataway, New Jersey is suing the township over a new ordinance that aims to crack down on criminal activity at hotels.
The ordinance holds hotels accountable for their guests, and police claim they've responded to more than a thousand 911 calls at hotels over the last year.
Many of those calls, they say, have been for the Motel 6 on Stelton Road.
During the latest police and EMS call to the hotel, video shows a woman being treated after she was slashed in the face, allegedly by another Motel 6 long-term guest.
"The individual that got arrested last night, the last nine months, we had six contacts with him," said Piscataway Public Safety Director Keith Stith. "He was arrested six different times. On two occasions, he was arrested with a knife."
Another one of those occasions was at Gabriele's Restaurant, which sits in the lot in front of the Motel 6. The owners say it was the same man who's been an issue to them and their customers multiple times. Video shows him angry, and hurling something at the staff.
"He was in my restaurant and had a knife on him, and we had to call 911. He followed me and my husband and my child to the car. We called 911. Then he went to the restaurant, was starting a fight with my manager," said Dana Gabriele, owner of the restaurant.
Piscataway's mayor and public safety director have had enough with the motel, and another nearby.
Mayor Brian Wahler says the Motel 6 and Extended Stay, have contracts with certain government entities to house clients that are in the social safety net system, and it's coming with sinister fallout.
"No supervision whatsoever. Anybody does whatever drug deals, prostitution, stabbings," Wahler said.
City Council passed an ordinance where hotel guests are allowed to stay for 89 days and have that extended, but if they commit crimes, they must be put out.
"That's why these ordinances are going to hold the motel operators accountable. And if we have to start hitting them in their pockets financially, so be it," Wahler said.
The Motel 6 had filed a lawsuit to stop the ordinance, which takes effect in May.
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Download our connected TV app
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
