Betz Clair
My name is Betz Clair and I live in Candlestick Mobile Home Park in Newburgh, NY. I moved to my community on the last day of 1999. It was a VERY nice place to live.
Out of the blue, one day in September of 2018, Lakeshore Management went door to door announcing that THEY were the new owners of the park, hastening us to a community meeting they used as an opportunity to criticize, chastise, and intimidate us, and establish their dominion. We returned home soberly. Many of us already felt unwelcome. ALL of us felt threatened!
Betz stands in front of a crowd of people. The are holding their hand to their chest and wearing an MHAction t-shirt.
One of the first things we noticed since they took over is that there's no one to talk to anymore. No manager works on site, she steals in and out 3x a week, looking for violations to write up, and to rotate paperwork. There isn't even an office in town... they don't even have one in our county! Emails and voicemails are screened and selectively returned, and if you do get someone, the answer is "Feel free to take care of that yourselves."
Worst of all, this is rapidly leaving the realm of affordable housing! When I moved here 22 years ago, the lot rent was $375/month. It was about $675 when Lakeshore showed up, and now, 4 years down the line, it's likely to exceed $800/month, with no signs of slowing down. Asking Lakeshore to JUSTIFY any charges is useless. The only documentation we ever got from them is a bogus tax document they manufactured themselves and holds zero credibility.
We know, we checked. Lakeshore claims the increases are a result of maintenance and operational costs, (we still have NO idea what they are) yet they systematically push off more and more responsibility onto the residents. From severe land erosion issues, to tree removal, to trapping and relocating wildlife!!!
Recently widowed, I find myself in a whole new income bracket. Will I have to leave this home my husband and I thought to retire in? Many of my neighbor’s fear speaking out against Lakeshore lest they incur retaliation. Lakeshore takes their cues from what other corporate owners get away with. The law says: annual rent increases up to 3% yet they find a way every year to top that. The law as it is written gives us 90 days to challenge the rent increase. BUT to get them to prove it, we need attorneys, and attorneys cost money. Most of us don't quality for legal aid. They know this. They're counting on this! Someone has to put them in check, so I turn to you lawmakers.
We need lawmakers to make good on their promises and be champions of the people. Come join me and other MHAction NY community leaders on March 24th, 2022 at 6:30pm, for a leadership meeting call where we’ll discuss our plan of action in NY to get lawmakers to pass the Right of First Refusal and Rent Justification loophole fix bills.
In solidarity,
Betz Clair
MHAction NY community leader