WHITE PLAINS – United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Dutchess County Town of Beekman. The lawsuit alleges that Beekman refused to allow Bunkhouse Recovery Ranch to operate an existing residential property as a sober living home that assists people with disabilities, specifically persons in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
“Those who are struggling to defeat their dependence on drugs or alcohol deserve support, not obstruction, especially when they are among our veterans, first responders, and their families,” said Clayton said. “The Fair Housing Act makes clear that individuals in recovery are protected from discrimination, and municipalities cannot use zoning classifications or procedural delays to block lawful housing. When a community refuses to treat a sober living home like any other residence, it denies individuals in recovery a fair chance to rebuild their lives. The women and men of this Office are committed to ensuring that federal civil rights protections are fully and fairly enforced.”
Bunkhouse, the concept of Pat Potter, who purchased a house at 237 Hynes Road in the Beekman hamlet of Poughquag in December 2023 for the purpose of assisting men who are in recovery from alcoholism or drug addiction to achieve and maintain sobriety, focusing on veterans, first responders, and family members of veterans or first responders, living at the four bedroom, three bathroom house. The estimated cost for each resident, according to legal documents, is $8,500 per month.
Potter and the US Attorney claim that the planned Bunkhouse Recovery Ranch originally received a positive reception from town officials and Potter purchased the 4,650 square foot residential property. Once Potter purchased the property, however, the town, through its Zoning Administrator Jessica Peterson and attorney for the town, Craig Wallace, began to erect hurdles to prevent Bunkhouse from operating. In particular, Beekman, under the leadership of then-Supervisor Mary Covucci, misclassified the property as an “alternate care facility or nursing home,” and required Potter to submit costly and unnecessary site plans and permits, and failed to respond to Potter’s efforts to meet the town’s shifting requirements.
The United States Attorney’s Office contacted the town attorney, Craig Wallace in October 2024, in an effort to avoid litigation. Wallace responded in December, claiming that Potter failed to exhaust all administrative remedies at the town level, with the town continuing to refuse to allow Potter to operate a sober living home on his property.
The Fair Housing Act, according to the Justice Department, prohibits, among other things, discrimination on the basis of disability, and defines disability to include drug or alcohol addiction where the person is not currently using illegal drugs and is in recovery from addiction. Prospective residents seeking admission to Bunkhouse must be sober and free of illegal drugs and must commit to remaining sober and free of illegal drugs throughout their residency.
Beekman Town Supervisor Laureen Abbatantuono told Mid-Hudson News that attorneys are reviewing the matter. “Our attorneys are reviewing the complaint,” she said. “It’s going to take a little time since this entire matter arose in 2024 and 2025, during the Covucci administration.” Abbatantuono declined to comment further until the town attorneys have completed the review of the federal complaint.
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