SARATOGA – After what it called “numerous complaints,” the state attorney general’s office has ordered the owner of a Saratoga Lake parking lot to “cease and desist from your harassment of tenants.”
The June letter, sent to attorney Justin Grassi about his client and Saratoga Lakeview mobile home owner Michael Giovanone, said Giovanone was “prohibited from interfering with the privacy, comfort and enjoyment of the homeowner’s home” because the behavior can be considered threatening and threatening. class A misdemeanor.
The letter, from Assistant Attorney General Vinita Kamath, also stated that Giovanone “may not threaten a resident or suggest that the tenant leave because they are behind the house” and that he “must provide essential services such as hot water or electricity, or repair essentials in a timely manner is a violation of the certificate of residence.”
The letter also states that it cannot “refuse to renew the rent because the tenant has properly complained to the landlord or government agency about the tenant’s rights.”
The mobile home park has been the subject of controversy since Giovanone bought the property in June 2021, a move that upset homeowners who were planning to buy it to save their homes. Giovanone’s plan for the 3.2-acre park is to close it and expand the Boat N RV Condos on Route 9P into the property.
However, as part of the purchase, he agreed to let the tenants stay for up to 60 months. But the tenants have been under pressure to move and one of the tenants, Angela Kaufman, is fighting.
“One of his concerns is that he doesn’t allow us to renew our lease,” Kaufman said. “We don’t have to sign new leases, but he has to give them.”
Giovanone said he has done nothing but help his tenants.
“If you can bring me a landlord who has done nothing but disrespect, you can beat me,” Giovanone said. “We have eight people living here, six of them are moving on their own. They are moving on to a better life.”
He also says that Kaufman is the reason people travel. He also called the letter “fake news” and a “witch hunt.”
“I have nothing to stop and stop,” he said. “We’ve done everything on the up and up.”
Kaufman, who said Giovanone had harassed him when he tried to evict him and arrested him for trespassing, said he complained about Giovanone to the attorney general’s office, but was told they would not investigate unless the owners other houses came before. He said that others have now, considering describing Kamath “a lot of complaints.”
“I don’t want to speak for the AG’s office,” Kaufman said. “But it looks like it’s getting to the point where it needs to be reviewed.”
The Giovanone residential complex is on the city of Saratoga’s Planning Board agenda on Wednesday, Nov. 30. It requires a multi-label design and site survey for a special use permit in the park for its boat and RV storage. When asked if he was taking his business to the owners’ lot before they moved, he said no and he was preparing for his eventual change.
“The park will be cleared,” he said. “No one will be harmed. Lot line realignment will come after the park is closed.”
