Fear, retaliation and a don't-know-thy-neighbor attitude permeate fight for control of the park

PORTSMOUTH – When Sharlene Patton started knocking on her neighbors' doors in the 22-acre Sunny Acres Trailer Park, most of the time she received no response.

Patton was trying to gather signatures because the mobile home park is set to be sold to Crown Communities LLC , a Wyoming-based investment firm that operates trailer parks, for $13 million. Rhode Island, like many states, allows the people who rent the land in trailer parks to band together and exercise a right of first refusal when their land goes up for sale, at the same price already agreed to by Crown Communities.

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