Replace the blight on Broadway

The part of Broadway that runs through Riverdale seems full of potential. A playground coming to Van Cortlandt Park will be conveniently close to the street. Vannie’s nearby horse stables have a new operator who promises to be more community oriented.

After months of heated feedback from community members, two new developments are going up on northern Broadway. Neither will be perfect, but at least planners are to all appearances trying to accommodate Community Board 8’s demands. The area seems poised to transition out of the doldrums and into something special.

So what is a hotel notorious for assignations and possible drug use doing in the neighborhood?

For years, the Van Cortlandt Motel has had a reputation for illicit activity unworthy of the rest of Riverdale. A sign inside the lobby advertising rates for three-hour-long stays indicates the kind of activity the motel caters to. The atmosphere of condom wrappers on corridors and marijuana smoke emanating from windows makes the location conducive to crime. Last year, there was one incident of rape, which is still open to detectives, in addition to two larcenies and one harassment case, according to the 50th Precinct. (Unfortunately, the authorities did not comment on rumors that the motel is also used by prostitutes and their clients.)

No parent wants their children to walk past people conducting trysts or doing drugs on the way to the playground or a pony ride.

Thankfully, the motel recently went up for sale.

Not so thankfully, the real estate agency with the exclusive listing for the property will not say what its plans are. So here are some suggestions.

For one, the Van Cortlandt Motel must not be sold to a proprietor who will maintain the status quo. The current owner has demonstrated his disdain for the community, but Cushman & Wakefield/Massey Knakal should make sure his successor will be a good neighbor.

With affordable housing units coming near the motel, the lots might make an ideal location for market-rate housing. Or, in the absence of hotels elsewhere in Riverdale, it could be a plus if a responsible hotel owner takes over.

The motel, built in the 1950s,  has a look that invokes nostalgia for some of us. It also faintly reminiscent of the setting for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” Authorities should work with the realtor to end the horror show.