A Yonkers company that has been unable to open a sober living home in Dutchess County is getting an assist from the federal government.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office sued the Town of Beekman on March 5 for allegedly blocking Bunkhouse Recovery Ranch NY from running a home for men recovering from alcohol or drug addiction.
For ten months, town officials have taken no action on requests submitted by Bunkhouse owner Patrick Potter, the complaint states, “which confirms that the town has not taken nor intends to take any action on Potter’s applications.”
Beekman Supervisor Laureen Abbatantuono said she cannot comment until town attorneys have had time to review the complaint. “This entire matter arose in 2024 and 2025,” she stated in an email, “long before we took office.”
Potter says on his website that getting sober in 1994 became the foundation of a lifelong journey of recovery and community service.
In 2023, he incorporated Bunkhouse Recovery Ranch NY, in Yonkers; bought a property in a sparsely-populated part of Poughquag, a hamlet in Beekman; and gave notice to town officials of his plans.
His idea was to open a sober home for veterans, first responders and members of their families who were not currently using addictive substances. The men would have to commit to living in the home for 12 to 36 months.
The program would provide peer-to-peer guidance and services such as crisis intervention, mental health awareness, and substance abuse prevention.
The communal living is meant to counteract feelings of isolation and loneliness that contribute to relapses, according to the lawsuit, and to encourage residents to hold each other accountable for their actions.
Town officials allegedly thwarted Potter’s plans by demanding a site plan and charactering a sober home as an alternate care facility or nursing home.
In February 2024, Potter submitted a site plan application and a request for a special use permit. Beekman officials allegedly demanded more reports that would have cost at least $50,000 and exceed Potter’s financial resources.
In June 2024, Potter withdrew his applications, cited the federal Fair Housing Act, and urged the town to make reasonable accommodations for the Bunkhouse.
Then a Beekman official allegedly characterized the Bunkhouse as a boarding house, under the town code, and not as a single-family dwelling for exclusive use by one family.
In October 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office intervened, urging the town to make a reasonable accommodation.
The feds argued that a sober living home is typically operated as a single-family house. The town code, according to the prosecutors, does not define family as people related to one another, but as persons living together as a single housekeeping unit.
The town attorney did not respond to the prosecutors’ interpretation of the law, instead arguing that Potter had failed to appeal a zoning decision.
Potter appealed but the town said it was too late.
In April 2015, Potter filed for a special use permit and site plan approval for a new proposal, reducing the number of residents from 16 to 12.
Since then, Beekman has taken no action, according to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, Potter has turned away about 50 potential residents, and at $8,500 a month per bed, he is losing $102,000 a month.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Beekman failure to accommodate the Bunkhouse amounts to a pattern and practice of discrimination.
Prosecutors are asking the court to declare that Beekman violated the Fair Housing Act, make the town undo its unlawful practices, award monetary damages to the Bunkhouse, and assess a civil penalty against the town.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton by assistant prosecutors David J. Kennedy and Tomoko Onozawa.
