Throughout Connecticut, 1 out of every 25 tenants faced eviction in 2025, according to data collected and an analysis by Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. And in the West End neighborhood where Bridgeport Board of Education member Albert Benejan Grajales, a Democrat, had until recently resided, 1 in 18 renters faced eviction last year.
City tax records show show the two-family Hancock Avenue home where Grajales had a month-to-month lease, according to legal filings, was sold Sept. 2.
On Sept. 10 new owners Abner Caceres Rocha and Marconi Albuqueque Arante began the eviction process, claiming through an attorney that Grajales missed his Sept. 1 rent payment that he had until the 10th to pay, court records show. They also did not want to renew his lease.
Like most renters facing eviction, Grajales did not have a lawyer. He wrote the court Oct. 28 that he faced homelessness if forced to move out while searching for subsidized affordable housing. He noted he has health concerns and “support animals” and was applying to Park City Communities, Bridgeport’s low-income public housing authority.
“I’m waiting for my disability apartment to be ready. I hope you can help me with this situation as soon possible since I’m going to be in the street,” Grajales pleaded.
His fear was warranted. Connecticut is facing a deepening housing crisis that has outpaced the state’s policy responses — leaving tenants increasingly vulnerable to displacement and homelessness. And limited protections under state law apply only to large buildings, so many renters, even those with disabilities, can lose their shelter quickly and without cause.
Making matters worse, the supply of affordable housing in Bridgeport and around Connecticut has failed to keep up with demand: vacant and available units are sparse; wait lists for subsidized or affordable housing stretch years; and rising rents squeeze households already struggling to cover basic costs.
Grajales agreed to leave his Hancock Avenue address by Dec. 31, a stipulation document the parties signed Dec. 1 shows. But additional court records indicate Rocha and Arante then asked in early January for permission to have a state marshal remove Grajales and his possessions from Hancock Avenue.
He has since been living in an unnamed out-of-town hotel — Bridgeport has no hotels — with emergency assistance from the city while seeking permanent housing, Mayor Joe Ganim’s office confirmed. The Ganim administration explained the funding was made available through the municipal social services department because of the immediacy of the situation — Grajales faced homelessness during cold weather — but did not specify when the hotel aid runs out.
City officials said such aid is available to anyone facing a similar emergency and, were it warmer, Grajales would have instead been referred to a local nonprofit for help.
Reached for comment, Grajales was reluctant to discuss his situation.
“It’s my personal life,” he said, but argued, “I never was evicted. They sold the house.” Contradicting the mayor’s office, Grajales also claimed he still lives in Bridgeport but would not elaborate. That could eventually have a bearing on his ability to continue holding elected office.
Meanwhile, sensitive to how the legal record might hurt his search for a new apartment, Grajales on Jan. 30 wrote the court insisting he had reached a settlement and moved out without technically being evicted.
“I want my name removed from this record so that it doesn’t affect my present and future,” he wrote. “I don’t want it on record that I was evicted which isn’t true because I left the apartment.” He maintained he turned over his keys on Dec. 31 and “left that same day.”
Neither Rocha nor Arante could be reached for comment. It is unclear where they are from and if they intend to reside in the Hancock Avenue house or rent it out. State law does not require landlords to disclose their contact information or address.
Venoal Fountain, Jr. of the Hirsch, Levy & Fountain firm representing Rochas and Arante said he could not provide additional information on the case beyond what exists in the public record “due to the rules of professional conduct and/or attorney-client privilege.” Fairfield-based Hirsch, Levy & Fountain’s website boasts how the firm helps landlords “quickly process eviction cases.”
While records show about 17,000 Connecticut households have eviction requests filed against them in court each year, most defendants agree to leave without ever technically being ordered to do so by a judge and having their belongings removed from the property by a state marshal.
Efforts by housing advocates to shield eviction filings from the public — and future prospective landlords — for cases where a settlement is reached have not been successful at the state Capitol, though the law does now require cases that are dismissed, withdrawn, or a judge rules against the landlord to be removed from the judicial website.
Sarah White, an attorney for the Hartford-based Connecticut Fair Housing Center, a housing rights nonprofit, said an eviction can make it “very difficult” for people to find new accommodations.
White is not familiar with Grajales' situation and was speaking generally. She also noted, “Bridgeport, as well as some other cities in Connecticut, have very high eviction rates.” According to the Eviction Lab, there were 3,409 such filings in the Bridgeport area over the past year.
And other factors do not bode well for Grajales or anyone else when it comes to quickly obtaining a new place to live. It is well known that housing costs here and around Connecticut have been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic and there is not enough stock to meet demand.
“Bridgeport does have one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country,” White said. “There are very few apartments available and the apartments that are are unaffordable.”
Jillian Baldwin is executive director of Park City Communities, the largest landlord in Bridgeport and the entity Grajales claimed he had applied to for an affordable apartment. Baldwin could not comment specifically on Grajales. But she confirmed the wait list for its low income public housing or housing vouchers is closed.
“When we opened it back in September, 2025 more than 3,000 people applied, and 500 people were already on the waitlist. That was the highest volume of applicants the agency had in its entire history,” Baldwin said.
Grajales expressed some frustration with that situation, saying Park City Communities, city and state officials must do more to address the crisis.
“We got people in the street. People that need apartments,” he said.
That includes the children of the Bridgeport school district, where Grajales has served on the board since his initial election in 2019. According to data collected by the state Department of Education, 1 out of every 88 students here was homeless at some point in the 2024-25 academic year. The available judicial database shows Grajales is the only current member of the school board with an eviction filing against him in recent years.
As for whether Grajales' situation will impact his ability to continue to hold public office, that depends on whether he is currently in an out-of-town hotel, as the city said, and for how long. He is supposed to remain a Bridgeport resident to stay on the school board.
Cindy Wolfe Boynton, director of communications for the Connecticut Secretary of the State, clarified “becoming temporarily unhoused does not automatically cause someone to lose either their residency or voter registration.”
“An individual may continue to be considered a resident of a municipality if they have the intent to return there, even if they are temporarily staying elsewhere, such as in a hotel in another municipality,” Boynton explained. “Questions about intent, the temporary nature of a displacement or challenges to an officeholder’s qualifications are ultimately matters for a court to decide if formally contested.”
Grajales has been participating in school board meetings as recently as last Thursday.
“I’m an elected official (and) I’m not going nowhere,” he said. “I’m here for the community.”
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