Feds Sue Town Under The Fair Housing Act For Blocking 'Sober Home' For Vets

TOWN OF BEEKMAN, NY —A Dutchess County town is in a legal battle with the federal government after blocking the operation of a recovery home, according to the DOJ.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY, Jay Clayton, announced on Thursday the filing of a civil rights lawsuit against the Town of Beekman, alleging the town refused to allow the Bunkhouse Recovery Ranch to operate an existing residential property as a sober living home for people with disabilities, specifically those recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

According to the complaint filed in White Plains federal court, in June 2023, Bunkhouse founder Patrick Potter started plans for a sober living home in New York to help male veterans, first responders, and family members of veterans or first responders.

According to the DOJ, he initially received a positive reaction from town officials and bought an existing 4,650-square-foot residential property in the Town of Beekman. However, once Potter purchased the property, the town's Zoning Administrator and counsel "began to erect hurdles to prevent Bunkhouse from operating," according to the complaint.

The DOJ says that the Town of Beekman misclassified the property as an "alternate care facility or nursing home," required Potter to submit expensive and unnecessary site plans and permits, and did not respond to Potter's efforts to meet the town's shifting requirements.

The U.S. Attorney's Office first contacted the Town of Beekman in October 2024, to possibly avoid litigation, but the town continued to refuse to engage with Potter's efforts to operate a sober living home on his property, according to the DOJ. Although Potter submitted applications for a special use permit and site plan approval in April 2025 to meet the town's requirements, the Town of Beekman "has ignored these good-faith efforts for ten months and counting," according to the DOJ.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits 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 that way throughout their residency.

"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," 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."

Anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination in housing, can use the Civil Rights Complaint Form available on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website.

The case is being handled by the Office's Civil Rights Unit in the Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Kennedy and Tomoko Onozawa are in charge of the case.