NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Aniyah Moore only wanted a fresh start in a new city.
Now, the 20-year-old from Louisiana faces a much harsher reality.
"People are with kids, and I don’t even have kids but, I’m going to be homeless. It’s insane," she said.
In a status hearing Thursday afternoon, city attorneys confirmed inside the Newport News Circuit Court that there are still outstanding code issues with the SeaView Lofts apartment building, two weeks after residents were forced to vacate the property due to a failed safety inspection.
Despite a now-fixed boiler, the building's elevators are still fully operational and up to code, meaning the Newport News Circuit Court judge who's been hearing the case will still not consider lifting the condemnation of the building. In previous court hearings, he said at least one elevator would need to be fully operational to consider allowing the residents back in the building.
This status hearing happened on the same day the temporary hotel stays provided by the city expired.
Moore is one of the many who said the previous night's sleep is the last time she fully knows where she'd rest her head at night, for the time being.
“We have a Facebook group with more than 50 people in there, and nobody has anywhere to go. Nobody. Everybody is saying they will sleep in their car tonight because nobody has anywhere to go. This all happened in two weeks, would you all have somewhere to go?" she asked.
A new hearing is set for July 26 at 8:30 a.m. Attorneys inside said that more repairs and more work could be completed by July 25 or sooner.
To date, the owner of SeaView Apartments LLC has not physically appeared in court yet. His legal representation as well as the newly hired property manager declined comments to the media.
A statement issued by the Newport News City Manager Cynthia Rohlf Thursday reads:
It is the owner's responsibility to ensure the necessary repairs are made and that the building is brought up to code. Unfortunately, the owner has not provided a timeline for when that will be done.
The city manager's statement goes on to read:
"While the judge has ordered the owner to reimburse the city for the cost of housing tenants, there is no indication, based on the owner’s actions to date, that the city will recoup the monies spent, and at this point it appears that the situation could continue indefinitely. The City of Newport News has provided temporary housing and other resources to SeaView tenants over the past two weeks as a short-term safety net to allow time for residents to make alternate housing arrangements. Years of deferred maintenance and poor business practices have brought us to where we are today, and we appreciate the court’s action to hold the owner responsible."