Orange Co. resident loses battle over trailer-homes

After years of dispute between the town of Tuxedo and an Orange County resident, a judge ordered his two trailer-homes to be demolished. ?They took my home away from me,? Pat Kelly says. ?That's where

News 12 Staff

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May 28, 2014, 6:55 PM

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Updated 3,955 days ago

After years of dispute between the town of Tuxedo and an Orange County resident, a judge ordered his two trailer-homes to be demolished.

?They took my home away from me,? Pat Kelly says. ?That's where I've lived for 25 years.?

But town officials say Kelly did not have a legal right to live in his trailers because town codes do not permit mobile homes, which some neighbors call "eyesores."

Kelly has been battling with the town since the 80s, when he first set up the trailer-homes on the property.

?The town has been reluctant to do anything, honestly,? says Tuxedo Town Clerk Elaine Laurent. ?We wanted to try to work with the gentleman.?

Eventually, the town got an injunction against Kelly, ordering him to remove the trailers and giving the town the power to tear them down in case he refuses to cooperate.

?The court seemed to agree with us [that] the trailers were illegal, shouldn't have been there all this time, and he had sufficient living quarters,? Laurent says.

Kelly also owns a house that is situated on his property behind the space where the trailers used to be parked, but he hasn't been living there.

Kelly says the home is under construction, and he has been struggling for years to make it livable. Town officials hope that after the demolition of the trailers, Kelly will move into his house.

But he says he is not sure when he will be able to move into the residence. For now, he says he may have to sleep inside his car. The town, however, offered to set him up in a hotel.

Tuxedo officials say Kelly will have to foot the bill for clearing the property.