By MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER

marcle@bradfordera.com

The OYO Hotel is closed and believed to be vacated, but this may not be the last we hear about the condemned rooming house.

‘The owner, Mr. (Ashok) Bhatt, has indicated his desire to sell the building,’ Bradford Mayor Tom Riel said. ‘He did say he would be listing it with a broker in New York if he didn’t find someone local to list it.’

With the deplorable conditions of the facility highlighted in public hearings by the city’s health department, would selling the property be legal?

Yes, Riel said, ‘Any Board of Health orders would follow the building.’

He added, ‘We’re uncertain of the building’s future at this time.’

The mayor said Bhatt did have the utilities shut off.

‘The electric service to the building was terminated at the owner’s request, as was the water,’ Riel said. ‘The dumpster has been removed.’

Boards have been slapped up, seemingly randomly, across the first floor exterior of the structure.

Riel said city officials aren’t thrilled with it.

‘It’s the city’s belief the boarding up of the windows was unnecessary and intentionally done to be as unsightly as possible in violation of the city’s historic district ordinance,’ the mayor said. ‘If you are concerned about windows being broken out, wouldn’t you board up all the windows and not just part of

them?’ During the November 2024 hearing regarding the Board of Health violations at the property, some of the things mentioned included concerns with cracked and deteriorated moulding and the poorly attached fire escape. Those might come loose and fall to the sidewalk below, a code official opined.

The Era asked Riel if a danger exists with the OYO still standing.

The mayor said, ‘Even though the business is shut down, the building is still going to be subject to the city’s codes.’

According to the online court docket system, as of Tuesday, there were no open or outstanding citations against Bhatt or Millstone Investments, the corporate owner of the property.

A fire escape affixed to the OYO Hotel with a ratchet strap was one of more than 200 violations at the building reported by City of Bradford code enforcement. Utilities have been shut off at the building.

Era file photo by Hunter O. Lyle