'The Real Bush House': New Website Responds To 'Disturbing' Quakertown Condemnation

QUAKERTOWN, PA — After a now-lifted condemnation from the borough of Quakertown, the Bush House Hotel's owner aims to "set the record straight" about his property.

A public relations representative confirmed to Patch that a new website for the low-rent apartments was created on behalf of owner Tom Skiffington, who feels the borough "misrepresented the property’s condition only to cast further shame on its residents."

The website purports to offer locals a look at "The Real Bush House," and alleges that a November condemnation was enacted to move low-income residents out of downtown Quakertown as part of gentrification efforts — not to protect them.

At the time of condemning the property, the borough said the building and its equipment were unsafe. Inspectors reported heavy bed bug and German Roach infestation in multiple units on all floors, and in hallways and common areas throughout the Bush House; they also said bugs had infiltrated fire alarms and other electrical outlets, leading to false alarms.

But the new Bush House Hotel website disputes that there was ever a large-scale infestation at the time of the condemnation. The website says Skiffington has invested more than $40,000 in pest control over the past four years, and more than $950,000 in renovating the hotel in that time. Renovations are continuing, per the website.

The website also includes quotes from community members in support of Skiffington — Zach Michener, a Bucks County landscaper, apparently said, “Tom Skiffington is not the slumlord that everyone is so eager to portray him as."

Tara Stoop is the director and founder of the non-profit Between Friends Outreach, which helps area homeless and low-income people, domestic violence victims, and veterans. Per testimonial on the website, she said she never saw signs of an infestation while visiting residents in her work with the non-profit, but did find the day of the condemnation "disturbing."

"The borough officials were high fiving one another stating 'We got him'," the testimonial attributed to Stoop reads. "I found that very pompous in my opinion. While assisting the residents of this alarming, unjust removal at the Borough Hall it was apparent no plans had been [made] for the individuals that resided there. We were all scattering to locate temporary housing for each resident."

The condemnation was lifted two months later, in January. The borough said the infestations could not have been remedied with people still living in the building, but that Skiffington had by that point remedied the most significant code violations, in part by fumigating the entire complex.

Alternative housing was found for all 61 residents, borough officials said. They did not say how many residents would be returning to the hotel. (A virtual tour on the website offers a look at several rooms, suggesting some may be available).

But the website disputes that condemnation was actually in residents' best interests.

"The Borough specifically denied the owner and residents advance notice in order to dramatize the incident and to incite fear through use of the media," the site alleges. "The Borough informed residents by sledge-hammering down doors and giving them 20 minutes to evacuate before being made to shower on a public road outside the building."

A representative for Gregory FCA, the public relations firm representing Skiffington and his property, told Patch the firm interviewed residents to create brief profiles showcased on the website under the heading "Meet the People of the Bush House Hotel."

These profiles, which use first names only, paint a picture of residents who needed the low-income housing — and have had a tumultuous past few months. "Michael," a short-order cook, "felt humiliated and betrayed by Borough officials;" for "Teresa," who worked as a cleaner with her late mother, "the Bush House is her home and employer."

"The Bush House is here for one reason: it’s needed," the site reads. "It’s needed by people who have nowhere else to turn. It’s needed by the town, which calls upon these residents to perform the work no one else will do. They are the invisible."

However, past lawsuits show that some did feel taken advantage of at the Bush House — former resident Keirstin Sibley told the Bucks County Courier Times, "It looked like I had burns up and down my arms" after an apparent infestation in 2015. Sibley and her roommates settled their lawsuits with Skiffington for $12,500 after finding new places to live, according to the report.

But Skiffington maintains that the borough acted because of an agenda, rather than out of care for residents.

"Contrary to their public stance, the Borough's actions were the culmination of years of persistent harassment dating back to a failed attempt to negotiate the purchase of the property by a third-party developer," the new website reads.

The Quakertown code enforcement department and borough manager did not immediately return Patch's requests for comment.

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