Maribeth Sheedy
My name is Maribeth Sheedy, and I am an MHAction Leader and the President of the Tenants’ Association for the Akron Mobile Home Park in Akron, NY.
I cannot stress enough the need for these bills for our communities throughout the state. I can personally attest to living in fear of not being able to afford rent and how important rent justification that actually works is to all those who live in Manufactured Home Communities. I also can attest to why we need the opportunity for the First Right of Refusal.
In 2017, our park was bought by Sunrise Capital Investors from Florida, who came in and the first thing they brought to us was a large rent increase. Thanks to the acts of our Board Members and our relationship with MHAction, we had the chance to take a breath and initiate action to prove the initial large increase was not justified since it was the second increase within a 12-month period.
In 2019, members of our board testified as to how these potential future increases are destroying our communities and leaving residents to make a choice between a roof over our heads or food on the table and needed medications. We were blessed to witness the passing of bills on rent justification, NY Senate Bill 2019 S6458, and look forward to improving those justifications in New York State.
Our community also pursued the dream of co-op ownership. We pushed very hard with the owner to come to fair terms of a sale, but they refused to reach an agreement. After attempting renegotiation, our park was sold without warning during the negotiation process to a new predatory owner, but this time it was Cook Properties, the largest manufactured housing owner in New York. Our park sold for half-a-million dollars less than the asking price. If we had the First Right of Refusal, it would have created a fair negotiation and good-faith requirements that would have prevented our park from being sold behind the scenes.
It was very hard to believe that someone who owns communities within our state would actually be less concerned with our wellbeing and more concerned with the profit they were about to make on their 54-park portfolio. Today, along with 53 other communities owned by Cook Properties, we are now facing a 6% increase based on inconsistent explanations and non-transparency.
We kindly ask that the strengths of these proposed bills, along with stronger protections and a much needed enforcement mechanism, be put into place to provide residents with the dream of homeownership without the worry of unaffordability and uninhabitability.
