Christopher Valentim Fonseca Andre, 3, plays outside of the Howard Johnson hotel where his family was staying in December.
Dozens of asylum-seeking families who were facing eviction from the Howard Johnson hotel in South Portland will be able to stay until the end of July, according to a new court order.
But where those 60 families – many with babies – will go after July 31 remains unclear. And it appears the state is stepping in to help.
New Gen Group, which owns the Howard Johnson, issued eviction orders over the past couple of months as the company tried to comply with a city ordinance that requires hotels to stop operating as emergency shelters by June 30 or face daily fines of $100 to $500 per violation.
Legal advocacy groups helped the asylum seekers lobby in court for more time so they could try to find other housing. It’s not clear how the court order, which extends a month beyond the city’s deadline, will affect the city’s plan.
Nine hotels in South Portland sheltered hundreds of homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of people without long-term housing greatly increased, including asylum seekers. The City Council decided in April to set the final deadline after it fielded complaints about the guests’ behavior, and police, fire and emergency medical services reported a spike in calls.
At the time, seven hotels were operating as temporary shelters. Since then, two other hotels owned by New Gen, the Days Inn and Comfort Inn, have transferred their remaining shelter residents to the Howard Johnson.
A spokesperson for the city said Thursday that she could not provide details about the number of hotels and people the City Council is discussing, but according to an agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting, more than 250 people staying in hotels could still be there on July 1.
But as the clock wound down until June 30, so many people appeared in court on June 1 that they had to open a second courtroom and families were shuffled throughout the Cumberland County Courthouse, said Katherine McGovern of Pine Tree Legal, which represents 12 of the families.
Interpreters were needed for four languages, she said. Hearings could have stretched on for four days, but instead, both sides reached a settlement agreement that was officially entered this week, McGovern said.
“The agreement buys them as much time as we think we can get for them,” she said. “But we had to let them know we don’t know where they’ll go after July 31.”
Maine Equal Justice also represented some of the families, but an attorney did not respond to an interview request Thursday.
Maria Carlota Fonseca talks on her phone in the lobby of Howard Johnson Hotel in 2022 while her 3-year-old son plays on a luggage carrier. Fonseca, who is from Angola, came to Maine last May with her husband and two sons in search of a safe place to live. As a new immigrant who doesn’t speak English, she said, it would be nearly impossible to navigate housing without some kind of help. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Suresh Gali of New Gen Group said in a statement through his attorneys that the hotel “has been honored to serve our community by welcoming these residents as our guests.”
“The resolution of the legal matters allows us to work with the state, the city of South Portland and local community housing advocates to ensure a more permanent solution or a safe transition of our guests,” he said.
Greg Payne of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation is working with the city to evaluate housing options for the residents at the Howard Johnson.
“We are continuing to work with the city to determine how the state may play the most effective role in supporting this effort,” Anthony Ronzio, a spokesperson for the office, said in an email.
While the two groups have come to an agreement, it’s not clear how the city’s deadline factors into the decision. Gali could still be forced to pay those fines. No hotels in the city, including the Howard Johnson, have requested the City Council waive fines for allowing residents to stay after June 30, city spokesperson Shara Dee said.
The City Council met Tuesday in an executive session with its legal counsel and the state to discuss options, Dee said. No action was taken following the closed-door meeting.
The council is tentatively scheduled to discuss the issue again at a special meeting on June 27. Dee said she could not say whether the council’s discussion is about multiple hotels.
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