Judge orders problematic east side hotel to close
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A hotel that’s crawling with problems on the east side of Indianapolis is being forced to close.
Everyone living at the King’s Inn, located at 6850 E. 21st Street, must be moved out by Thursday.
Tenants were upset but not necessarily surprised. A year and a half ago, the city declared King’s Inn as a nuisance property partly for all of the police runs that go there.
It was given the chance to fix its problems to avoid getting shut down but now it appears by today’s ruling that enough is enough.
At IMPD’s East District, officers have a good idea where they’ll spend most of their time patrolling.
“42nd and Post is up here, New York and Sherman is down here,” said IMPD Commander Mike Bruin as he pointed toward a map of the east district. “King’s Inn is right there.”
And it’s at the King’s Inn where police say they visit nearly every day.
“There’s narcotics investigations, couple medical runs, lot of disturbances,” Cmdr. Bruin said while looking at a long list that outlined every call to the hotel since January 1. IMPD and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office had been there 100 times during that span.
“I checked a hotel just down the street from there that’s similar in size and by contrast we’ve been there 11 times in that same period of time,” he said.
In November 2013, the city filed a nuisance lawsuit against four property owners, including King’s Inn’s owner. Crime wasn’t the only issue at the hotel. The city said it’s operating without a hotel license, has inadequate security, and that its stairs and hand rails aren’t up to code.
Those issues didn’t surprise to the people who stay there but the notice on their doors Monday did.
“Dear guests and tenants, it is my deepest regret to inform you that the King’s Inn has been closed by the request of the city of Indianapolis,” said tenant Thomas Costomiris as he read the notice.
He’s not just worried about where he’ll stay next but whether or not he can afford it.
“I don’t understand you know how they can just throw us out in three days, people that have paid. I’m paid ’til April 16. You know what I mean, so that doesn’t make any sense,” he complained.
We tried to see if he could get a refund but the office was closed. In a few days, it’s possible the entire property could be the same way.
According the notice, the attorney for the hotel’s owner plans to appeal the court order.
We tried getting in touch with management at the hotel and by phone to comment on the issue but didn’t get an answer.