Loitering on Fresno’s commercial ‘spine’ worsens. Businesses want city to intervene

Blackstone Avenue business owners say loitering and trespassing has worsened on one of Fresno’s busiest commercial corridors and want help from the city to address the deteriorating conditions.

A.J. Rassamni, president of the Blackstone Merchants Association, said some homeless shelter operators have encouraged loitering by asking homeless individuals to wait for services on private properties. 

Blackstone business owners launched a petition this summer calling on city leaders to intervene and increase police presence on the corridor. Rassamni said the association wants homeless shelter operators to abide by a “good neighbor” policy in which they agree not to provide services to homeless people on private property.

The association’s petition shows photos of Poverello House staff trespassing on private property to serve homeless clients, despite requests from property owners to stop, according to Rassamni. The Fresno Mission nonprofit has said the private operator of the former Motel 6 at 4080 N. Blackstone Ave. south of Ashlan Avenue has exacerbated loitering in the area.

“We pay taxes, yet we have to hire our own security to protect us,” said Rassamni. “It’s like we live in the Wild West.”

Business owners also urge the city to allow code enforcement officers to issue criminal citations to repeat offenders loitering on private property.

“The excuse we always get is, ‘We don’t have enough police force, and we have higher priorities than coming to check on trespassing,’” Rassamni said. “I recognize the police are doing their job, but the problem has gotten out of hand.”

Rassamni, who owned The Great American Car Wash on Blackstone, said he’s dealt with encampments of up to 15 people on his property. Rassamni, who is currently running for Fresno City Council in 2026, started the Blackstone Merchants Association in 2016.

One of the merchants’ past petitions argued that placing shelters within 1,000 feet of Del Mar Elementary, Fort Miller Middle School and Aspen Public Charter schools — which serve many low-income or housing-insecure students — compromises students’ safety. 

“Look, we know that certain organizations are dropping people off on Blackstone,” said Rassamni. “They need to have a policy that says, ‘If you’re on private property, we’re not going to serve you.’ How hard is that?”

Employees at Blackstone businesses say the situation is affecting daily operations and deterring customers.

“It’s not a good sight for the customers,” said an employee at Mattress Firm, who asked to remain anonymous. “There are usually six or seven people behind the building and three or four out front.”

Nonprofit points to out-of-town operator

While business owners have blamed multiple local organizations like the Fresno Mission and Porverello House, a leader from those groups says an out-of-town operator of the shuttered Motel 6 is behind the corridor’s recent tensions.

Los Angeles-based Soul Housing LLC partnered with Holliday Management Inc., to create a recuperative temporary housing business operating on 4080 N. Blackstone Ave. Soul Housing, which partners with local property owners across California, began operating short-term housing at 4080 N. Blackstone in March.

Mayor Jerry Dyer’s office confirmed that the 4080 N. Blackstone property is owned by Nick and Jay Patel of Holiday Management Inc.

Matthew Dildine, CEO of the Fresno Mission, said the out of town operator began offering services without community engagement or city oversight.

“Personally, I do actually think it’s a legitimate concern for our community that we have outside providers that are moving into the area because of the insurance opportunities. They are billing for homeless services, and it’s not valid people trying to actually help the homeless. It’s about turning them into profit centers,” Dildine said.

Rassamni said Soul Housing has agreed to the business association’s “good neighbor” policy and patrols a four-block radius to ensure homeless clients aren’t trespassing on private property. He said blight on the corridor worsened in 2021 after the city purchased hotels on Blackstone and converted them to homeless shelters.

Dildine said the owners appear to be taking advantage of new billing opportunities under the CalAIM Medi-Cal insurance program, which allows certain homeless services to be reimbursed. While he supports CalAIM overall, he said the system can be exploited.

“There’s also certain things that are very lucrative under CalAIM and that’s what they’re trying to take advantage of billing opportunities,” Dildine said.

Leaders of the Fresno Mission say they and Poverello House have long operated on the same stretch of Blackstone without incident by building relationships with businesses and the community. Dildine said both organizations have been blamed for problems associated with the out-of-town group, even though they maintain separate campuses.

“It’s not fair to us. It’s not fair to Poverello House because nobody can tell whose client is whose,” Dildine said.

He described the situation as “a tale of two operators,” with one campus maintaining order and structure, and the other drawing complaints for loitering and disruptive behavior.

“I literally just drove by, one has people all over, coming in and out, going to the liquor store,” he said. “The other doesn’t.”

Fresno mayor: Motel 6 operator to shut down by October

Mayor Dyer said his office has received multiple complaints from Blackstone business owners, which he and council members have responded to with meetings that included Poverello House, code enforcement, the police chief and district commanders.

Dyer says the city has been aware of the issues since May and he gave direction to the police department to start monitoring Blackstone Avenue, where there have been weekly arrests. 

Dyer said police are working on a long-term strategy involving business watch programs, better lighting, secured utility access, cameras and a public education campaign urging residents not to give money or food directly to unsheltered people.

“There’s a reason they’re there. It’s because people give money. People give food, and it allows for an attractive nuisance for people who ultimately end up hanging out around the businesses,” Dyer said.

Dyer confirmed the Motel 6 operator is a private contractor who’s received funding to place 200 people receiving recuperative care services at the former motel site and said that they have agreed to cease all operations by mid-October.

However, the owners of the 4080 N. Blackstone property said after publication of this story that they hadn’t agreed to cease operations this year.

The mayor also explained that several Blackstone properties, like the Clarion Hotel, were purchased by the City of Fresno during the pandemic through state programs like Project Roomkey and Project Homekey. These sites were intended for temporary shelter use before being converted into affordable housing in the next five to six years, Dyer said. 

“The long-term goal is to provide both fixed income housing, both affordable and market rate housing,” Dyer said, noting that the city has already converted hotels on Parkway Avenue and has projects in the works along Blackstone, including the Clinton Avenue apartments and The Arthur.

Dyer described Blackstone as “the spine” of Fresno, once the city’s main shopping hub and said he hopes increasing residential presence will boost business activity along the corridor.

Rassamni of the merchants’ association said the city should create a designated “safe zone” away from Blackstone where homeless people can receive wrap-around services including medical care, food and housing.