Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Fair Valley residents band together to stay put in York Twp.
ShareThis
Fair Valley residents band together to stay put in York Twp.
PETER MERGENTHALER The York Dispatch
Posted: 09/09/2009 10:49:06 AM EDT
As the deadline to move out approaches for residents of Fair Valley Mobile Home Park in York Township, the neighborhood is banding together.
At a news conference Tuesday, Cheri Honkala, national organizer for the Philadelphia-based Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, said her organization is working with attorneys and outreach groups to extend Fair Valley residents' moving deadline and get more compensation for their homes.
"These residents matter," she said outside the York Township municipal building Tuesday afternoon. "They're human beings, and they should be treated like human beings."
Property owner Multi-Properties Inc. of Baltimore notified tenants in mid-July that they have until 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 15 to move or
Cheri Honkala, back to camera, national organizer for the Poor People s Economic Human Rights Campaign, stands outside the York Township municipal building during a protest Tuesday. (Peter Mergenthaler Photo)
vacate their homes. The company has offered to refund two months' rent and $2,000 toward the cost of moving to another mobile home park if tenants agree to leave by Nov. 30.
Should residents decide to stay longer, they would be refunded two months' rent and receive $500 to turn over the title to their units.
Not enough: Though several Fair Valley residents have moved out since or are in the process of doing so, many of the remaining residents are bristling at the offer, which they say undervalues their homes.
Dave and Barb Malone, who relocated to Fair Valley about two years ago after an adjoining trailer park was closed, said their home has been assessed at more than $17,000. If they give it up, they should get far more than $500 in return, they said.
And moving the home -- even to another site in York County -- would cost thousands more than the $2,000 Multi-Properties has pledged to pitch in, Dave said.
"Where's the justice?" Barb said.
Multi-Properties Vice President Richard Hantgan said the money is an incentive to work cooperatively on exchanging the title and isn't meant to be considered an offer to purchase the trailers.
"The $500 wasn't an attempt to buy people out for a low amount," he said. "Seeking a title is a slow and arduous process. We have people who've abandoned their trailers and left town, and we didn't want to chase them."
'Screwed': Whatever the rationale, the money is small comfort to Charlie Graham, 81, who has lived in the neighborhood since his wife died 32 years ago.
"This is my home," he said. "We're getting screwed."
A Navy veteran of World War II, Graham has undergone a host of surgeries and other medical procedures since an accident in 1983, when he was struck by a vehicle while working on a used Chevrolet car lot.
Since then, he's had several knee replacements and operations on his neck and left foot. His son has offered to take him in at his home in the Poconos, but Graham said that would put him 24 miles from the nearest doctor, VFW or American Legion post.
In York County, "I can just get on the phone, and in five minutes," an ambulance arrives, he said.
Why, what's next: The company decided to close the park for a variety of reasons, Hantgan said. Revenue from tenants' rent isn't enough to cover some of the costs of owning the property and streets, and Hantgan said natural gas pipes throughout the park were in "terrible condition" when Multi-Properties acquired the neighborhood early this year.
"It's a process that we really inherited," he said.
Law requires the company to offer only 30 days' notice, and the company isn't forced to extend any financial assistance to residents, Hantgan said.
But by offering some money and connecting residents with area resources -- including communities for seniors and other mobile home parks in the county -- Multi-Properties is working to allay concerns, he said.
"We're trying to work with them. We're trying to give them time. We're providing financial contributions," he said. "It's above and beyond what's been required."
When the park is closed, Multi-Properties will begin moving toward some sort of for-rent or for-sale residential community. That process includes mounting a study of demand in the area and waiting for the real estate market to rebound, Hantgan said.
-- Reach Peter Mergenthaler at 505-5439 or pmer genthaler@yorkdispatch.com.
PETER MERGENTHALER The York Dispatch
Posted: 09/09/2009 10:49:06 AM EDT
As the deadline to move out approaches for residents of Fair Valley Mobile Home Park in York Township, the neighborhood is banding together.
At a news conference Tuesday, Cheri Honkala, national organizer for the Philadelphia-based Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, said her organization is working with attorneys and outreach groups to extend Fair Valley residents' moving deadline and get more compensation for their homes.
"These residents matter," she said outside the York Township municipal building Tuesday afternoon. "They're human beings, and they should be treated like human beings."
Property owner Multi-Properties Inc. of Baltimore notified tenants in mid-July that they have until 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 15 to move or
Cheri Honkala, back to camera, national organizer for the Poor People s Economic Human Rights Campaign, stands outside the York Township municipal building during a protest Tuesday. (Peter Mergenthaler Photo)
vacate their homes. The company has offered to refund two months' rent and $2,000 toward the cost of moving to another mobile home park if tenants agree to leave by Nov. 30.
Should residents decide to stay longer, they would be refunded two months' rent and receive $500 to turn over the title to their units.
Not enough: Though several Fair Valley residents have moved out since or are in the process of doing so, many of the remaining residents are bristling at the offer, which they say undervalues their homes.
Dave and Barb Malone, who relocated to Fair Valley about two years ago after an adjoining trailer park was closed, said their home has been assessed at more than $17,000. If they give it up, they should get far more than $500 in return, they said.
And moving the home -- even to another site in York County -- would cost thousands more than the $2,000 Multi-Properties has pledged to pitch in, Dave said.
"Where's the justice?" Barb said.
Multi-Properties Vice President Richard Hantgan said the money is an incentive to work cooperatively on exchanging the title and isn't meant to be considered an offer to purchase the trailers.
"The $500 wasn't an attempt to buy people out for a low amount," he said. "Seeking a title is a slow and arduous process. We have people who've abandoned their trailers and left town, and we didn't want to chase them."
'Screwed': Whatever the rationale, the money is small comfort to Charlie Graham, 81, who has lived in the neighborhood since his wife died 32 years ago.
"This is my home," he said. "We're getting screwed."
A Navy veteran of World War II, Graham has undergone a host of surgeries and other medical procedures since an accident in 1983, when he was struck by a vehicle while working on a used Chevrolet car lot.
Since then, he's had several knee replacements and operations on his neck and left foot. His son has offered to take him in at his home in the Poconos, but Graham said that would put him 24 miles from the nearest doctor, VFW or American Legion post.
In York County, "I can just get on the phone, and in five minutes," an ambulance arrives, he said.
Why, what's next: The company decided to close the park for a variety of reasons, Hantgan said. Revenue from tenants' rent isn't enough to cover some of the costs of owning the property and streets, and Hantgan said natural gas pipes throughout the park were in "terrible condition" when Multi-Properties acquired the neighborhood early this year.
"It's a process that we really inherited," he said.
Law requires the company to offer only 30 days' notice, and the company isn't forced to extend any financial assistance to residents, Hantgan said.
But by offering some money and connecting residents with area resources -- including communities for seniors and other mobile home parks in the county -- Multi-Properties is working to allay concerns, he said.
"We're trying to work with them. We're trying to give them time. We're providing financial contributions," he said. "It's above and beyond what's been required."
When the park is closed, Multi-Properties will begin moving toward some sort of for-rent or for-sale residential community. That process includes mounting a study of demand in the area and waiting for the real estate market to rebound, Hantgan said.
-- Reach Peter Mergenthaler at 505-5439 or pmer genthaler@yorkdispatch.com.
Labels: Cheri Honkala, Deb Rothrock, Fair Valley Mobile Home Court, Justin Watkins, Multi-Properties Inc., Multi-Ventures, PA PPEHRC
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]