Peabody mayor delays closing of Rt. 1 motel

PEABODY – Mayor Michael Bonfanti has vacated the order by Peabody’s building commissioner to close the infamous Carriage House Motel for building code violations until Monday, said mayoral aide Sean Fitzgerald Friday afternoon.Bonfanti originally ordered the Route 1 establishment to shut down its business and relocate guests by yesterday, but has since decided to give people more time to find suitable housing. New reservations are not allowed.”As of today, there are only 12 people left that have not been placed in other living arrangements,” said Fitzgerald, who spent Friday afternoon at the motel assisting those in need. “No one will be removed from the property. All settlements were voluntary. And, if anyone needs to come back and collect their things, they’ll be able to do that.”Fitzgerald said several guests have already registered at other motels in the area. He said the motel’s owner, Carl DeCotis, offered $200 per resident to pay for several nights elsewhere.”North Shore Community Action Programs have been working with (DeCotis’) attorney to draw up agreements to provide longer term assistance,” said Fitzgerald, adding that he expects those to be done Monday.For years, the motel has been the center of crime for the city.The latest sting occurred last week when Peabody Police confiscated over $16,000 worth of OxyContin. An undercover officer had a gun drawn on him in the process.Fitzgerald said that DeCotis had plans of closing the business on his own in 30 days.”Our hope is that we can find a much more acceptable and beneficial use for the city,” he said. “That site has a lot of heartache and human tragedies attached to it.”The decision to close the Carriage House was a difficult one, said Fitzgerald.”We made this decision mindful of the fact that there might be some collateral impact on human beings,” he said. “We’re doing our best to help those folks that are kind of stuck in between. We’ll be there to support them as best we can.”Fitzgerald anticipates the closing of this one motel to be the beginning of a very long trend.