Note: More media content is available for this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
Hurricane Sandy-displaced Brooklynites should trade in their tiny homes and dangerous, urban lifestyles for a taste of Southern hospitality, says a South Carolina resort owner who wants to rent out rooms at his place for about $21 a day.
Hans Trupp of Savannah Lakes Resort and Marina in bucolic McCormick County thinks hard-hit boroughites should spend their government-issued recovery money taking it easy at his deluxe, Dixieland resort, where they can play golf for free and reassemble their lives without worrying about getting mugged on the way to the subway.
“Instead of being stuck in some apartment in Brooklyn that’s 400-square-foot, [where you’re] afraid to go out on the street, we’re in the middle 120,000 acres of national park land, and a 71,000 acre lake, and the best golf courses in the country,” said Trupp, who claims his typical rate of $99 a day —$3,069 a month — will be slashed to show off the $11 million he just invested in his resort. “You can be relaxing in South Carolina, while you deal with the disaster in Brooklyn.”
Trupp hopes to lure Brooklynites to his 80-room sports lodge and eight townhouses by renting space for just $650 a month, a fee that will include club membership, Internet access, and — get this — long distance phone calls. He’s so anxious to get Brooklynites down there, he let you in without any down payment.
“If somebody comes down and they’re waiting on their renter’s assistance, we would probably work with them and let them pay us when they get the check,” he said.
Trupp said his paradise has plenty of amenities, boasting of its recreation center and two restaurants, and the fact that it is the home to the annual golf tournament held by Hooters, a nationwide restaurant chain known for its wings and, well, breasts.
But despite all that luxury — or possibly because of it — city officials say Brooklynites won’t benefit by flying the coop to the Palmetto State.
“You’re going to be disengaged from what’s going on here in New York,” said Peter Spencer, a spokesman for the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery. “You might need to fix your home and go to work — we want them to be engaged and be involved in the decision-making process [here].”
Trupp said no one has taken him up on his offer as yet — and Sheepshead Bay parent Liz Brown, a single parent who just moved back into her apartment since whe was displaced by the storm 69 days ago, says things such as work and kids can get in the way of moving to the South.
“It’s a wonderful offer for someone who is not working with children to take them out of their horrible area and go, but for those of us who have to work, there’s no place to go, you have to go back to your rubble everyday,” said Brown.
Savannah Lakes Resort and Marina [101 Village Drive in McCormick, SC, 29835, (864) 391–3477, www.savannahlakes.com].
Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.