Former tenants of condemned apartment complex in Española struggle to find new housing

Dec. 3—ESPAÑOLA

Michelle Sandoval scoured the classified advertisements in a local newspaper Friday, desperately searching for housing rentals.

She found three listings, but two of them didn't allow pets and the remaining option would not accept her housing subsidy from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sandoval, 52, has a dog named Chloe and a cat named Mousey. They were staying with her in a motel room in Española, where she and her fiancé had sought shelter after being evacuated, with many other residents, from a condemned apartment building.

"I can't throw my pets out or give them to the animal shelter," she said, describing how she rescued Mousey from a cold winter night many years ago.

Sandoval was a tenant at Santa Clara Apartments in Española before the city condemned the building in November. The property's owner, Bosley Management of Sheridan, Wyo., had failed to correct building code violations that were deemed "life safety issues" in city inspection reports in January and August.

Sandoval and her fiancé, Johnny Trujillo, had been living in the motel room for 10 days after they were forced to leave the complex Nov. 22.

The room fees are covered temporarily by a 30-day voucher from the state Department of Finance and Administration, which also issued the aid to other former Santa Clara tenants. But the couple hope to find more permanent housing before the assistance expires.

"We want to get out of here as soon as possible because we can't cook anything," Trujillo said. "We're living out of boxes."

Sandoval and Trujillo, along with tenants in 31 other apartment units, were told Nov. 22 — two weeks after the city of Española officially condemned the building — they would have to leave Santa Clara Apartments.

A sign posted on the building Nov. 8 stated the building must be "vacated and secured" Nov. 22.

But in the days between, tenants said they had received conflicting statements from city officials about whether they would be forced to evacuate.

Española City Manager Jordan Yutzy told The New Mexican on Nov. 18, "We are not going to kick them out."

Four days later, tenants said, Española police told them to evacuate or face arrest.

Samuel Herrera, 50, a longtime tenant of Santa Clara, described that day as "chaos." He and others who previously were told they would be allowed to stay at their homes for weeks or months, were ordered to vacate the building by 5 p.m.

The state Department of Finance Administration arranged rooms at two motels in town for the 32 "legal" Santa Clara tenants, but those displaced residents now face the seemingly futile task of finding new housing with their USDA vouchers.

"It's been a nightmare," Herrera said, decrying the motel management's treatment of the tenants. "For Thanksgiving, we had to stay in our rooms like prisoners. There's no other housing here in Española."

Española Mayor John Ramon Vigil said Friday he wanted to make clear the city did not evict the Santa Clara tenants, despite the city's enforcement of the requirement to vacate the condemned building. He added Yutzy's statement "wasn't worded in the best way."

"We're not kicking anybody out because it's not our building," Vigil said. "We can't kick anybody out of a building that doesn't belong to us."

Vigil noted the "multitude of safety hazards" at the complex and said the building's condemnation was "not a situation [Yutzy] and I took lightly."

The mayor said fires ignited in abandoned buildings around Española recently likely were started by squatters.

My fear is during the winter this happens, and we have a major fire at Santa Clara Apartments, and we have a major loss of life," Vigil said. "That's my fear."

The city scheduled some time Tuesday for tenants to return to their apartment units to retrieve their belongings. Several reported their homes had been broken into and their belongings stolen.

Sandoval said some silver Nambé platters she had owned for 14 years disappeared from her apartment.

"I should've packed those first, but I didn't think," she said.

Tenants were carrying couch cushions, houseplants, dishware and other belongings down the stairs at Santa Clara and loading them into shopping carts to wheel out to pickups parked in front of the building. Herrera, who has a disability, struggled to load his belongings into the back of his truck.

Española interim Planning Director Lou Baker stood at the entrance of the building with a clipboard, checking that each person moving their belongings was a legal Santa Clara tenant.

Baker said she had been helping the tenants connect with administrators at state and federal agencies that provide housing assistance.

When asked if she knew of any Santa Clara tenants who had successfully secured housing elsewhere, she shook her head.

Sandoval, sitting in her motel room Friday and petting Mousey, said she was hopeful about a lead she had on a potential apartment in Los Alamos. Her 7-year-old granddaughter, Analeigh, goes to school in Los Alamos, she said.

Nevertheless, she would prefer to stay in Española.

Sandoval said the situation has worried her granddaughter, who asked if she would be able to spend Christmas with her and Trujillo and whether Santa Claus could visit a motel.

"She's scared," Sandoval said. "She's worried about us, but I told her everything will work out, God willing."