CITY & COUNTY OF EL PASO, TEXAS ENDANGERED SAFETY-SECURITY-RIGHTS OF RESIDENTS FOR 8 YEARS | CLASS ACTION POSSIBLE?

? 23 September 2024 by Sean Ian Fischer. All Rights Reserved. Contributor to Mustang Leadership Solutions Group, LLC.

Son of former Gateway Hotel resident shares the details of his mother’s relocation

https://kvia.com/news/el-paso/2024/09/23/gateway-hotel-resident-son-downtown-el-paso-tren-de-aragua-gang/

It took the City/County of El Paso, nearly a week to provide anything resembling a real press conference since the forcible eviction of 60 residents and closure of the Gateway Hotel on 104 S. Stanton St., El Paso, Texas on 12 September 2024 from 8:00-10:00 AM.

The City and County of El Paso have demonstrated egregious failures of leadership, duty of care, direct accountability, and responsibility for the safety and security of its citizens. Perhaps some young aspiring and courageous El Paso lawyer or law firm will take this case against the City-County of El Paso, Texas on (and perhaps the Federal Government if they are involved?).

Regrettably, the local press treated city officials with kid gloves. To date, it doesn't appear that the press has practiced true investigative journalism. The Press has given the City-County of El Paso a "pass" in answering hard questions as to how the City-County could have allowed Mr. Harold Yun - the owner of the Gateway Hotel - to operate his business for nearly 9 years without holding him accountable for the state, condition, safety, and security of the building that was home, anecdotally, to at least 60 legal residents, one of them to include my mother and US military Veterans.

In reviewing the so called "press interviews" given by the El Paso, Texas District Attorney, Mr. Hicks, and the El Paso City Mayor, City Manager, and Chief of Police, from a leadership perspective/observation - they all appear uncomfortable on camera and afraid of fielding any difficult, more incisive and surgical questions. Luckily for the City-County Leaders, none were asked.

The American democratic press is the only aegis/shield that American Citizens have against the hubris and tyranny of institutional government and systems. When the Press fails in its obligation to perform its duty in America, America becomes just as corrupt as the second and third worlds. Our Press is supposed to be the beacon for the world's democracies.

Since the "Press" will not ask the City-County of El Paso Leadership the hard questions, Mustang Leadership Solutions Group, LLC is demanding/asking the following:

1. Provide and produce all Gateway Hotel building safety inspection reports since 2015.
2. Provide and produce the Gateway Hotel owner - Mr. Yun's business licenses since 2015.
3. Provide and produce the Temporary Occupancy Permit alleged to date back to 2015/2016.
4. Provide and produce fire inspection reports from 2015 to present.
5. Provide Gateway Hotel and City, State, Federal video and/or body-cam video showing Tren de Aragua gang and/or other criminal activity at the Gateway Hotel over the past 8-9 years with descriptions/accompanying narratives and reports.
6. In an interview given last week by the El Paso Mayor, City Manager, and Chief of Police, they mentioned that they were merely following the law by abruptly closing the Gateway Hotel.
7. What laws specifically are they referring to (law, code, regulation, statute) and why didn't the City-County of El Paso feel the need to follow the law for the past 8 years?
8. Why was the Gateway Hotel closed so abruptly with only 48 hours notice to the legal residents of the hotel?
9. How long has the Federal, State, and local law enforcement been surveilling the Gateway Hotel and the presence of the activities of the Tren De Aragua (TDA), Aztecas, and other gang/criminal activity in the hotel? Anecdotally, the hotel has been surveilled from adjacent abandoned buildings since at least May of 2023.
10. What are the specifics and details of the 693 emergency/fire/police response calls to the hotel recorded over the past 2 years/24 months?
11. US Congresswoman Escobar, in a recent interview on the border, claims that she is concerned for the welfare of the military Veterans that resided at the Gateway Hotel, yet she did not respond to the plight of a USMC Veteran I encountered on the street (and then resident of the Gateway) who needed assistance reinstating his Veterans' Administration healthcare identification card/credentials when I visited her Wells Fargo Building office in January 2024 and brought the matter to the attention of her Military Affairs representative (also Veteran - a retired US Army Sergeant Major). I told her rep that I had his military service number (he voluntarily provided it to me in hopes of helping him restore his VA healthcare benefits) and was ready to provide it to him. He responded he could not take it. I stated that he could walk the 3/4 blocks to meet with the Veteran who was squatting on the corner of San Antonio and S. Stanton to get it from him personally. Ms. Escobar's Military Affairs representative stated he could not/would not do that. So much for putting your money where your mouth is. This demonstrates that our democracy is not action oriented and responsive even when a relatively simple matter presents itself for potential positive outcomes. They are too cautious and non-engaging for political purposes and not for the reasons why they were elected to serve in the first place.
12. Was/is the City-County of El Paso eviction of the Gateway Hotel residents legal according to City, County, State, laws, regulations, codes, and statutes? And if so, list and state them with accompanying explanatory notes.
13. The City-County of El Paso seems to have itself violated the law by a) forcible removal and lack of sufficient notice to its legal residents to vacate, b) El Paso City-County 8 year negligence, c) Endangerment of its legal residents of the Gateway Hotel, d) separation from residents' personal property breaking the chain of custody/positive control of their property from 12 September 2024 to present, e) needless/induced displacement/homelessness of the Gateway Hotel's legal residents.
14. Is the City-County of El Paso going to pay the evicted/displaced/now homeless legal residents restitution of rent paid as compensation for permitting them to reside in a building that should have been condemned by the City of El Paso 8-9 years since 2015/2016? If the hotel was legally uninhabitable since 2015-2016, that is the fault of the City of El Paso. The legal residents have paid rent for the periods of their stays. It is not the fault of Mr. Yun - the hotel owner - but that of the City of El Paso for allowing and compromising the safety and security of the Gateway Hotel residents.
15. Is the City-County of El Paso going to pay the Gateway Hotel legal residents "displacement and rehousing" costs?
16. Is the City-County of El Paso going to pay the legal residents of the hotel for damages/loss of personal property due to a break in the chain of custody as a result of the hasty evacuation/eviction of the hotel's residents?
17. Will the City-County of El Paso compensate its residents for the needless stress, anxiety, trauma, pain and suffering experienced by the 60 residents, their families, friends, and loved ones?