GRETNA, La. — The Oasis Motel is facing shutdown unless the owners of the mid-century modern designed motor inn located along the West Bank Expressway in Gretna can clean up its act, according to WWL Louisiana media partners at The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate.
According to Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson, the low-budget motel has been the source of 159 calls for service in the 20 months leading up to Oct. 1. That number includes five reported drug overdose deaths and 30 instances where paramedics were needed.
“We have nothing to compare it to,” Lawson told The Times-Picayune.
Staff writer Blake Paterson reported that owner Bill Wang is scheduled to appear before the Gretna City Council Wednesday night for a hearing on his occupational license.
Wang purchased the motel in 2015, and said he spent $400,000 last year to bring his business in line with the city’s code enforcement department. Wang said he is currently waiting on a permit from the city to install a gate that will only allow patrons to enter the premises.
In the report, Wang said the motel no longer accepts stays longer than a week.
Wang's attorney Shan Jiang said the Oasis Motel is “trying to do everything... to comply with the city."
“All I hear from the owner is, ‘Whatever the city wants us to do, we want to do it’,” Jiang told The Times-Picayune. “But it doesn’t happen overnight.”
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