Frontier Park residents file 3rd lawsuit

Residents of a North Amityville mobile home park that is being threatened with redevelopment have filed their third lawsuit against the developer and the Town of Babylon.

The latest lawsuit from Frontier Park's civic association asserts that ownership in the park has changed and that under the state's real property law, residents should have been allowed to make an offer for the site. Residents were denied their "right of first refusal," the lawsuit states.

A town spokesman noted that the town is requesting the lawsuit be dismissed, but declined to comment further. Park owner H. Lee Blumberg did not respond to requests for comment. Katherine Heaviside, spokeswoman for New Frontier Llc, the partnership formed between developer R Squared and the owner, declined to comment.

The developer wants to build 500 apartments on the 20-acre mobile home park site. The park has more than 300 mobile homes, and many of the residents -- who own their homes but pay $635 in rent to stay on the property -- say the homes are too old to move.

Residents say many in the park are seniors, disabled or are young families just starting out, and they will be unable to afford the $1,400 and higher monthly rents in the new units. The town has said the park will be condemned by the county for health and safety violations if it is not brought up to code or redeveloped.

The lawsuit -- filed May 30 -- alleges that New Frontier has taken an 18 percent ownership interest in the park "with an opportunity to increase its ownership to over 50 Percent." The suit concludes that "on at least two occasions . . . park owners received a bona fide offer to purchase" the park without notifying the park's civic association and offering the association "its right to purchase the property."

In the town's request to dismiss the lawsuit, the town asserts that "there was never an offer of the owner to sell the mobile home park or a bona fide offer to purchase the mobile home park, only a transfer of asset from the old corporate name to the new name."

In March, the civic association filed suit against the town's zoning board, alleging Frontier Park Co. Llc to which the board gave permission to proceed with its development plans, has no legal control of the property. The suit, based on Suffolk County clerk records, alleges the actual owner is Frontier Park Co. Llp. The town has moved to also dismiss this lawsuit.

A second lawsuit filed in April takes issue with a Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the site prepared for the developer. The suit alleges a "serious failure" on the part of the town to not demand certain "important" tests be performed as part of the statement. A spokesman said the town is preparing a response to this lawsuit.