Church Evicting Parishioner

Luis Ramos Cruz could depend on the church next door for a prayer service, an occasional bag of food pantry groceries, and — most recently — an eviction notice.

Since 2017, Ramos Cruz has lived next to the Iglesia Cristiana Estrella Resplandeciente De Jacob, a congregation on Chapel Street that has served as both his religious sanctuary and his landlord.

After a myriad of disabilities sent Ramos Cruz in and out of work, and left him behind on rent payments, he is now facing his second eviction battle with the church in housing court.

Ramos Cruz, who is 41 years old, has worked off and on as a mail deliverer with the post office in Monroe for the past three years, he said. His ability to work fluctuates due to a number of chronic illnesses and conditions, which make it painful to bend down and move: sciatica, diabetes, sleep apnea, and psoriatic arthritis.

“Every part of my body hurts,” he said.

He survived a car crash in May 2021, which only worsened some of these conditions. Initially, after the car crash, Ramos Cruz said he qualified for 45 days of ​“Continuation of Pay.” He said the Office of Workers Compensation Programs rejected his application for disability assistance after that period; he said he doesn’t know why. He added that he is unable to afford all of the co-pays for his medications, one of which amounts to $85 twice per month. 

The church first moved to evict Ramos Cruz in April 2021. Court records state that he had been missing his rent of $800 per month since August of 2020. The church withdrew the case in October when money from the state-run UniteCT eviction-prevent program paid off a year’s worth of Ramos Cruz’ debt.

Te next month, in November 2021, Ramos Cruz remained unable to pay the $800 in rent, he said. Seven days after the grace period for rent payment ended, the church sent Ramos Cruz another notice to quit the premises.

The church also filed an eviction case against Ramon Cruz’s romantic partner, noting that Ramos Cruz did not have permission to live with other tenants in his apartment. Ramos Cruz said he did not realize he needed to inform the landlord about a partner moving in.

The case is ongoing, with a mediation date scheduled for March 1. The church declined to respond to repeated requests for comment over the course of a week, as did its Milford-based attorney, Robert W. Chesson of the self-described ​“Landlord Law Firm of Chesson & Schweickert.”

Meanwhile, Ramos Cruz recently received a letter from his doctor saying he can return to work. He said he’s in the process of resuming his job at the post office.

The pending eviction comprises just one chapter in an ongoing struggle for Ramos Cruz to find or afford housing. It comes as eviction lawsuits are on the rise across the state and nationwide, with tenant advocates fearing that the looming lapse of the governor’s eviction-prevention measures may result in a wave of compounded hardship for tenants already struggling to stay housed during the ongoing pandemic. 

Ramos Cruz lives with his girlfriend, Angelica Velez, and her best friend’s six-month-old baby, whom Ramos Cruz said is ​“basically our son.” 

“I know I can’t live for free,” Ramos Cruz said. ​“It’s not that we don’t want to pay. It’s that we can’t pay.” 

He grew up in Puerto Rico, and has no other family or friends in New Haven. ​“I don’t have a place to go,” he said. 

"My Sanctuary"

Ramos Cruz first moved to New Haven with his ex-wife after he lost his job in Massachusetts. The couple stayed with her aunt, until in October 2017 a dispute prompted them to leave for a nearby hotel. They broke up soon afterward. Ramos Cruz remained in the hotel for six months.

The hotel room cost about $1,400 a month in addition to storage. And the room lacked a full kitchen. Ramos Cruz used a Foreman grill and a microwave to prepare all of his meals. Throughout the six months he lived there, he would often microwave pre-packaged rice bowls he had purchased at Walmart. 

When Ramos Cruz toured the apartment at 183 Chapel in March 2018, he realized that the real estate agent showing the apartment grew up in the same Puerto Rican town that he did. The realtor offered the apartment for a relatively low rent of $800 a month. ​“I thought it was the greatest opportunity,” Ramos Cruz recalled. He signed the lease.

At first, the apartment seemed ideal. ​“It was my sanctuary,” Ramos Cruz said. After a day or two of moving, he said, ​“I made a full, full feast”: assembling a platter of rice and beans and salad and fried chicken for himself. 

He looked forward to being able to cook, watch action movies, and relax with his Playstation; to live on his own terms, in his own space, rather than acting like a hotel guest. ​“I was relieved that I was here.” 

While Ramos Cruz has occasionally visited Estrella Resplandeciente De Jacob for a church service or a food pantry bundle, he’s been frustrated with the church’s performance as a landlord, he said. He said that the church has at times been responsive to concerns — at one point remodeling the bathroom— but that other issues he’s reported, including a fallen bathroom ceiling tile, kitchen cabinet doors that don’t close, and window drafts, have been left unaddressed.

The stress of the eviction has prompted Ramos Cruz to seek out mental health care, which in turn has added to his bills, he said. It’s hard to hold ​“all the troubling issues in your head,” he said. ​“What are we going to do if we leave? All those emotions, they have to come out.”

Despite these difficulties, Ramos Cruz and Velez have sought to surround themselves with beauty in their Chapel Street home. In the living room, a plush blue-and-black patterned sofa offers a comfortable seat and a number of multicolored baby toys brighten the floor. Nearly every wall of the apartment features spiritual art from around the world, including African paintings, Asian sculptures, and wall hangings inspired by their own religious tradition. 

In a tapestry on one of Ramos Cruz and Velez’ walls, the Virgin Guadalupe gazes down from a shimmering star, her hands clasped. A prayer for the house and its family has been printed beside her, titled ​“Blessed home.”

Ramos Cruz translated the words from Spanish: I bless this home, and the food of every day… I bless those who witness me: in sorrow and happiness, I will accompany them.

Other recent stories about New Haven eviction cases working their way through housing court so far in 2022.

• Hard-Luck Tenant Hustles To Stay Put
• Eviction Of Hospitalized Tenant, 74, Upheld
• Judge Pauses Eviction Amid Rent-Relief Qs
• Amid Rise In ​“Lapse-of-Time” Evictions, Tenant Wins 3‑Month Stay
• Leaky Ceiling, Rent Dispute Spark Eviction Case