Trailer parks cited for health violations
An investigation into the near squalid conditions of 16 mobile home parks in four counties recently led to a state Supreme Court settlement that requires the owners to clean up the parks and bring them up to code.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that the parks in Ontario, Wayne, Yates and Steuben counties were found to be plagued by contaminated drinking water, leaking waste, mounting heaps of uncollected trash, rodent infestations and, in some cases, exposed electrical wires.
Edgetown Estates in Canandaigua and Vine Street in Naples, along with Westwinds, the Triangle Trailer Park, Willow Creek and Kyte Road in Manchester, were among the list of mobile home parks to be cited for repeated health code violations.
Repair orders issued by the court for Vine Street included exposed electrical boxes, uncollected trash heaps and driveway potholes.
"The residents had no choice but to endure harsh and in some cases hazardous conditions because they could not afford to leave," said Cuomo in a released statement. "The park owners took advantage of this, ignoring the fact that their tenants were exposed to unsafe drinking water, overrun trash facilities and sewage leaking into the ground."
The owners of all 16 properties, Glenn and Robert Houle, agreed to a settlement on Dec. 11 that would require the correction of all violations at all parks within 90 days. In addition to the cleanup orders, the Houles were fined $9,000.
"The attorney general is trying to make an example of us," said Robert Houle. "If they were so concerned, they could have closed the parks and fined us a lot more. They know the previous owners were responsible for this."
Houle said that his company "inherited" most of the problem properties after the problems were already well advanced, two years ago. When the previous owners of about ten of the parks went bankrupt in 2004, Houle and his companies reclaimed the properties and with them the unsanitary and sometimes dangerous living conditions, he said.
"None of the parks were closed," said Houle. "Most of these situations were preexisting before we purchased them. ... You buy properties and sometimes these situations come about."
Whether the problem properties were inherited is beside the point, according to representatives of the attorney general's office.
"The bottom line here is that (the Houles) own the parks now, and they are responsible for the conditions," said Deputy Attorney General Katherine Kennedy. "What we need is for the residents who live in these parks to live in a safe and non-hazardous fashion."
Houle does not argue the point. In fact, he claims responsibility and assures solutions.
"I pride myself on trying to be a responsible landlord," he said. "The fact that they didn't close the park or fine us anywhere near where they could have shows that we cooperated. It was left for us to handle."
Contact Philip Anselmo at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 322, or at panselmo@mpnewspapers.com.
Problem Parks
The 16 mobile home parks found to be in repeated violation of health code were spread across four counties. They are:
Ontario County
Vine Street, 38 Vine St., Naples
Edgetown Estates, 2515 County Road 28, Canandaigua
Westwinds, 1253 County Road 7, Manchester
Triangle Trailer Park, 4273 Route 96, Manchester
Willow Creek, 285 Route 21, Manchester
Kyte Road, 4361 Kyte Road, Manchester
Wayne County
Hillside, 90 Mill St., Clyde
Maple Creek, 1688 Marion Road, Palmyra
Orchard Estates, 5274 Route 104, Sodus
Railroad Park, 3880 Railroad Ave., Williamson
Yates County
Acorn Valley, 4851 Sunnyside Road, Italy
Steuben County
Brookwood, 7220 Freeman Hollow Road, Bath
Brookside, 7581 Route 415, Bath
Denwood Terrace, 75 Water St., Bath
Town and Country Court, 7552 Route 432, Addison
Front Street, 98 Front St., Addison