NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — In a neighborhood already wrecked by Helene’s storm surge and Milton’s winds, a simple piece of paper is causing even more agony.
Some residents with seriously damaged homes in Harbor View Mobile Manor are now getting eviction notices.
Janel Heffelfinger, Harbor View HOA board president, said, “We have some that are trying to live with no electric. No floors. They are falling through their floors when they walk. We have one couple who has a man who is completely paralyzed in a wheelchair. She can’t even bring him back here. They are paying money out of their pocket for a house they can’t live in because his wheelchair will fall through. And they are staying in a hotel but they want their rent.”
Down one ravaged street we found Eddie trying to salvage some of his belongings in a place he can no longer call home.
“It’s kind of devastating to think that a lot of my neighbors and friends other than us is really out and we don’t know what to do,” Eddie said.
Eddie says he and his wife found a smaller condo to move into and signed away what’s left of their home to the park owners.
“I just put in a $7000 heat and air unit, and $1000 for a hot water tank,” he said.
Some of Harbor View is still without power and much of the trash is still piled up.
“When I first moved here this was a beautiful mobile home park and now we are living like trailer trash. It’s ridiculous. We pay way too much money to this big corporation to not have any consideration,” said Heffelfinger.
Pasco County Commissioner Lisa Yeager just found out about the eviction notices here.
“How can we do that to our seniors? They can’t afford it. We are going to bankrupt them. These people need help. These parks, they can’t evict these people. They’ve just been through a catastrophe,” Yeager said.
New Port Richey City Manager Debbie Manns told me she plans to go to the park on Sunday to learn more about the needs in this community and what options they may have.
I reached out to the park owners, Equity LifeStyle Properties in Chicago, and asked what could be done to help those struggling here. I reached out to the park owners, Equity LifeStyle Properties in Chicago, and asked what could be done to help those struggling here. The public relations department got back to me and said they are looking into the situation.
Equity LifeStyle Properties later sent a statement that said:
"The well-being and satisfaction of our residents at Harborview Mobile Manor is very important to us. We have been prioritizing the post storm cleanup by assisting residents, working with the city and providing additional resources.
The demand letters that were sent to residents impacted by the storm should not have been sent and we sincerely apologize for this oversight in our process. We are committed to our residents and have been working with each resident on a case-by-case basis. During this time, we have waived any additional fees and have provided extensions for rent payments. We have been in regular contact with residents to ensure they remain aware of resources available to them to provide assistance, like our Consider Others grant program. We will continue to work with each homeowner on an individual basis.
Since the storms impact across the state of Florida, we have been working with numerous municipalities regarding debris clean up throughout our communities. Many cities across Florida have stepped up to collect debris from public rights-of-way, private roads, gated and ungated communities, and manufactured home and condominium communities that are within their city limits. It was originally communicated to our residents by the City of New Port Richey that they would be providing debris removal services. Similar communication has been shared on their website and the city’s Facebook page. We were recently made aware that the city would not be providing these services to our residents, causing a delay. We have been able to secure a local contractor, and we anticipate being able to move forward very soon on the debris clean-up efforts at Harborview.
We continue to work with the city to restore power to the remaining homes in the community. Although the electric pedestals are the responsibility of individual homeowners, within the first week following Hurricane Helene we developed a plan to assist residents with their power restoration. We had a licensed electrician under contract to evaluate and upgrade these pedestals, working directly with each resident based on their individual situation. We began communicating this plan to our residents but unfortunately the city and power company made the decision not to restore electric service to many residents, which stopped our work on electric pedestals."
In the meantime, word is getting out about what’s happening here, which has led to donations of food and clothing.
“Right now we are the talk of the city, but unfortunately it took this to do it. But we are still being bounced between the management company and the city. We can’t do this because you’re private. It’s up to them. We are on a list. C’mon just give us answers,” said Heffelfinger.
County leaders say they can’t help if they don’t know about the problems. They want people to self-report by calling the county customer service line at (727) 847-2411.
