New owner sought for Vannie motel

After years of raising neighbors’ eyebrows and drawing occasional police dispatches, the Van Cortlandt Motel is up for sale.

Owner Vishal Patel is selling the property at 6389-93 Broadway through the real estate company Cushman & Wakefield/Massey Knakal for an asking price of $8 million.

The two-story, 50-unit motel’s placid 1950s architecture belies the activity that goes on within.

The 50th Precinct reported one rape still open to investigators along with two larcenies and one harassment case at the motel last year. A community affairs spokesman did not answer questions about rumors of prostitution at the motel.

The site, which offers rates for overnight and three-hour-long stays, is known as a place for assignations.

A line of taxi and livery drivers outside the motel, located near the intersection with West 256th Street and across from Van Cortlandt Park, awaits a steady stream of people coming and going from the motel.

When asked about illicit activity at the motel, two drivers interviewed for this article were mum.

But one cab driver said he knew the Van Cortlandt Motel as a place where clients from Manhattan and other areas outside of Riverdale come for trysts and to do drugs.

“Most of the clients are couples,” said Rodolfo Cruz. “I don’t like too much to take people out of here. Most of the time, they are trouble people. They don’t like to pay... Drugs, prostitution — from time to time, I’ve seen it.”

Weekday rates posted in the motel’s office run from $44 for a three-hour-long visit to $89 for an overnight stay.

A woman visiting the Bronx from Miami spending several nights at the motel said she had recently been accosted by another guest there.

“The other day, one man opened the door naked and called me... He called me to go to his room,” Lisset Amarales said on Monday.

She added that after calling the motel’s office, an employee told the man to leave Ms. Amarales alone, and he complied.

A visit to the location revealed numerous suggestions of illicit activity. One second-floor room emitted a strong smell of marijuana, while condom wrappers were strewn along the corridors.