Motel used by poor shut downWork under way to fix fire and building code violations By James Scott
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Work under way to fix fire and building code violations North Charleston inspectors have closed the Star of America Motel for fire and building code violations, sidelining what has become a safety net for many of the area's poor who might otherwise end up on the street. Building and fire inspectors shuttered the 62-room motel on the southern end of Rivers Avenue after a routine inspection uncovered nearly 79 violations ranging from collapsed ceilings and mold to inoperable fire alarms and electrical problems. 
Tyrone Walker Construction worker James Flowers takes a break Tuesday while working on a room at the Star of America Motel on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston. The building owner said he's fixing up the property in stages, and it could cost $50,000 to repoen the motel. North Charleston Building Director Darbis Briggman said the city spent nearly four hours reviewing the two-story motel before closing it Nov. 6, giving residents 24 hours to move out. Neither the Fire nor Building Inspections departments issued fines, but officials said the motel will have to be brought into compliance with all city codes before it is allowed to reopen. "It had been neglected," Briggman said. "People have a right to rent a place and not worry about being in a fire or suffering the effects of mold." Motel owner Jay Patel said between 15 and 20 people were living at the motel when inspectors closed it. He said he plans to renovate the motel and reopen it. The cost, he estimated, could be as much as $50,000. He said he has no idea when that will happen, but he plans to fix the property up in phases. Work is under way, he said. Patel, who bought the motel before the closure of the nearby Charleston Naval Base, watched his business evaporate after the base shut down in the 1990s. Since then, he has rented rooms for $180 a week, often to the area's poor who can't afford much else. After North Charleston closed the Good Samaritan Mission four years ago for unsafe housing conditions, many of the residents relocated to the Star of America. Likewise, when city inspectors discovered a homeless family camped out in the woods behind City Hall several years ago, they too were taken to Patel's motel. "I work with people who have no money. I still work with them. Not many places do that," Patel said. "I will still continue to do that." The motel popped up on the fire department's radar in May during a routine inspection, Battalion Chief Greg Bulanow said. He said fire inspectors returned five times in recent months to check on the progress of fixing violations. Bulanow said that in some areas of the motel, inspectors found inoperable and missing fire alarms and fire extinguishers that had not been serviced. Briggman said the Building Inspections Department found its own set of issues, ranging from unsafe floors to interior and exterior deterioration. "These were serious violations that needed to be corrected before it was safe for occupancy," Bulanow said. Reach James Scott at 745-5855 or at jscott@postandcourier.com. |
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Posted by Brant on November 14, 2007 at 8:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Doesn't any GOOD news ever come out of North Charleston?
Posted by bkeelin on November 14, 2007 at 8:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Working as a missionary in the Chicora Cherokee area I have seen first hand the people who lived in Jay Patel's hotel. Jay did indeed work with them and in fact many were transient. Most of the people I meet and give food and clothing to think only short term. Survival mode is the status quo, it's what they know. They never learned long term thinking and they are constantly worried about where are they going to get their next meal from, or where are they going to be sleeping in a couple of days. Everything is now, food is scarfed down, sold or bartered for something else. Day labor jobs are great because you get paid quick and can get a place to sleep that night. Most people have no idea what it's like to live not paycheck to paycheck but day to day. People live in fear and the drug dealers ride their bikes around peddling their poison. Most want a better life but have no idea how to get there and are reluctant to put forth the effort for fear of failure and fear of success. When I started working in this area twelve years ago it was called "the devils tringle" but peole don't hear that name anymore. Now it's called "the Macon", short for "Money Makin'". If you got something to sell then this is the place to sell it. We are working on changing that name too. I could go on but I won't.
Posted by roseb on November 14, 2007 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
stand828:If these people rent an apartment or house, they will have to pay for electricity, water etc. which will add up to much more than what they are paying now. I applaud Mr. Patel for what he is doing. Maybe he should go to the library and research if there are any grants that he can get to help him with the renovations because of the service he is providing for these people.
Posted by RTC on November 14, 2007 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Is this not the same hotel where the employee shot the would be robber?
Posted by common_sense_plz on November 14, 2007 at 10:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Not the same hotel. That hotel was on Fain St.
Posted by eyfigueroa on November 14, 2007 at 11:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i used to manage a day labor office off of mcmillan avenue. for years i got to know many men and women who were homeless (mostly from bad decisions and behaviors). they would try to get their lives together but still couldn't get enough money together for rent deposits, utility deposits, etc. It was a vicious cycle for many of them.
not that i advocate that private businesses not require deposits for their services, just that it would be great for people who are trying to get their lives on track have a place to live where they learn or in many cases re-learn how to pay rent, bills and have a stable home life, albeit in a renovated motel.
i've personal worked with individuals who lived for years on the street and in and out of shelters, finally get it together, came to work for me everyday, saved as much as they could while living at that hotel and others like it and eventually move out into standard housing.
i applaud mr. patel for catering to clientele who may seem repugnant to the rest of society. i'm sure he got into the business for less than esoteric reasons, but he certainly stayed with it and seems willing to do what he can to help those in need.
if anyone out there hears about a legitimate and formal process of assisting mr. patel contact me.
Posted by hotmama on November 14, 2007 at 4:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Are you kidding me???? Seriously??? Some of you applaud this man?
This building is in critical condition. Lives will be lost if something drastic isn't done immediately. If he truly wanted to "help" wouldn't he make the living conditions livable? I was unfortunate enough to have to stay at this hotel and it is dispicable my heart goes out to those who have no where else to turn. I'm asking all of you who believe Mr. Patel is a God to the homeless or less fortunate, etc. to rent a room for a night, and then post your thoughts on this desperate situation! And where is the $180 a week going???
Posted by cantwejustloveoneanother on November 14, 2007 at 7:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
$700 a month may be enough to rent a house but when you rent a house you have to have furniture to go in it. You also have utilities to pay. Some of these people are fortunate to have $180 this week but may not have it next week. While they have it, they have a place to stay, albeit not the safest place in the world but where is? It is much safer than on the streets. At least they have a bed to put their heads on and electricity to heat and cool by. They have a place to put their meager belongings.
Hotmama- you say that you were unfortunate to have to stay there. I think you were very fortunate to have a place and enough money to go there, even if it isn't the "Ritz". You wonder where the $180 a month is going? Evidently you don't have to pay fire and liablity insurance where you are staying. Do you have to pay for water, sewer, electricity, garbage pickup, property taxes and sales taxes? I've never been in the hotel business before but can understand with the bills I have to pay, all of the above plus more, why the hotel business charges what they do.
I only wish that I had the $50,000 it would take to get this hotel back up and running so that these people could have a place to call home again. Remember this when you crawl into your warm bed tonight under covers that are clean on a soft mattress behind locked doors. There are people who are now on the street because this hotel was closed.
Posted by STJ_Boi on November 14, 2007 at 7:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BKEELIN, Thank you for enlightening us all. Many times we read these stories and take them at surface value only, but these are people. People with real lives, stories, and histories most couldn't even imagine. They deal in a daily reality that is so far removed from what most of us know that it becomes easy for us to say, "why don't they just..." Thank you for reminding us that while many of us are consumed with aspirations, there are some who are simply trying to survive.
Posted by burton on November 14, 2007 at 7:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
hotmamma, you hit it dead on the head. I live in this community and most of the people that have posted here don't know all of the story. I for one am glad to see this place shut down. It was a haven for prostitution, drug sales/use, loitering, etc., and not to mention all the code violations. I would like to see this place bulldozed and the land used for mixed development that will bring jobs and economic development to the community.