Residents sue town over trailer park plan

Some residents of a North Amityville mobile home park have filed a lawsuit against Babylon Town's zoning board, alleging the developer to whom the board gave permission to tear down the park to create an apartment complex has no legal control of the property.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in State Supreme Court by William Rapp, attorney for the Frontier Park Mobile Home Civic Association.

The lawsuit alleges that while developer R Squared Llc and the title insurance policy for the site identify Frontier Park Co. Llc as the property owner, the actual owner -- based on Suffolk County clerk records -- is Frontier Park Co. Llp.

A limited liability company (llc) and a limited liability partnership (llp), Rapp said, are "different legal entities formed under different Articles of New York's business law."

There is a corrected deed, but the document was not recorded with the county and cannot be used to transfer the title of a property to Frontier Park Co. Llc., the lawsuit states.

Tim Ruggeri, a spokesman for Babylon, said the town does not comment on pending litigation. Katherine Heaviside, spokeswoman for the developer, did not respond to requests for comment.

R Squared wants to build 500 apartments on the site of the mobile home park, which has more than 500 residents. Town officials said the park -- located off Route 110 -- was in jeopardy of closing due to health and safety violations.

The developer asked the town for several variances -- including having four-story buildings -- which the zoning board of appeals approved last month.

But the lawsuit states that Frontier Park Co. Llc "cannot be the legal owner of record" and "thus had no standing to make an application" to the zoning board. Furthermore, it states "it was arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of its discretion" for the board to approve the variances.

The residents, many of whom have low or fixed incomes, pay $635 in monthly rent for the land on which their mobiles homes sit. They say they won't be able to afford the apartments.

R Squared has offered $20,000 in relocation assistance to each homeowner in the civic association. Rapp said because Frontier Park Co Llc is not the owner of record, financing for the project -- including this assistance -- will not be possible.

The town's legal response to the lawsuit is required next week, Ruggeri said.