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The suit, filed Thursday, Oct. 10, in Sullivan County, targets River Valley Estates (River Valley), a mobile home park in Loch Sheldrake (Hurleyville), and its operators, George Levin and Gayla Sue Levin, for years of failing to maintain essential infrastructure in the park that left hundreds of residents without clean water and for charging illegal fees and rent hikes that cost residents hundreds of thousands of dollars, the AG's Office said.
According to Attorney General Letitia James, River Valley has violated numerous state laws meant to protect the health and safety of tenants, causing residents to endure raw sewage overflowing into their homes, regular water outages, polluted water, and other unsafe conditions in their community.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges River Valley has charged illegal fees and rent increases and entered into leases that unlawfully fail to protect tenants’ rights.
James is seeking a court order forcing River Valley to make all the repairs necessary to improve its park conditions, pay tenants $2.3 million in restitution for the lack of clean water service and illegal charges, and pay up to $295,000 in penalties.
“River Valley residents have suffered for years in dangerous and unsanitary conditions, forced to travel miles outside their homes just to get clean water,” said James.
According to the lawsuit, over 200 residents of River Valley have endured dangerous conditions since 2017 due to the park’s failure to maintain its water systems. As alleged in the lawsuit, residents routinely face boil water orders and have their water shut off entirely, forcing them to spend their money to obtain clean water.
Park residents have described the water as putrid, sulfuric, sandy, gritty, and topped with a slick, oily film. The park has been under a boil water order since June 2024, the longest boil water order residents have endured to date.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges that River Valley failed to properly repair septic systems that caused sewage to flow into residents’ homes and onto their property.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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