Yorktown Town Board Revokes Permit for Sober Home
The Yorktown Town Board voted unanimously last week to revoke a special use permit for a controversial sober living home on Underhill Avenue after recently learning the residence had been sold.
Town Attorney Michael McDermott explained one of the conditions imposed by the board on Constellations Recovery when the permit was granted in 2015 was any change in ownership made the permit null and void.
On May 11, the 8,470-square-foot home at 482 Underhill Avenue was sold by Tom McCrossan and Mark McGoldrick to Justin Gurland, Matthew Rinklin and Zachary Clark, but McCrossan and McGoldrik claimed to remain as operators of the facility, according to McDermott and Robert Schonfeld, an attorney for the new owners.
However, Supervisor Michael Grace and others said they did not believe McCrossan and McGoldrik would have any roles in the new convalescent home.
“It’s just a ruse and I don’t buy it,” Grace remarked. “I went out on a limb for this place. I hoped this thing would be a success and it turned out not to be, and they proved it by selling it. We made a firm commitment to the residents that we would hold their feet to the fire on the conditions.”
Grace, McDermott, Councilman Tom Diana and Pia Riverso, a litigation attorney who raised questions about the zoning for the home when it was being proposed and was involved in ensuring the conditions were solid, took exception with Schonfeld alleging Yorktown was against individuals with disabilities.
“It’s got nothing to do with the nature of the disability,” Grace said. “As a community, we showed great courage in approving one of the first facilities of this type.”
“Don’t tell the people of Yorktown that we are discriminating against people with disabilities. That is the furthest from the truth,” Riverso said. “It is quite clear what went on here. This is an effort to try to go back and try to circumvent what we specifically negotiated, that they openly agreed to in court.”
Constellations Recovery offered Sober Living for as many as 14 adults, 18 years or older who had completed 30-, 60-, or 90-day inpatient, outpatient treatment, or had otherwise been cleared by a licensed professional to participate. Applicants must have a primary diagnosis of drug or alcohol abuse. Opened in May 2015, it was the first High End Recovery Center in Westchester. It was co-founded by McCrossan’s son, Devin, a recovering addict who was Director of Admissions.
One of the individuals who lived at the home was Henry “Hank” McWilliam, an 18-year-old Rye High School senior who died December 21, 2015 of an overdose after a weeklong stint there. His parents, Dr. James McWilliam and Catherine McWilliam, spoke at last week’s hearing and took issue with how sober living homes are able to operate without any regulations.
“It’s a money-making business. It preys on people who are struggling. It preys on families,” Catherine McWilliam said. “This (son’s death) should not have happened. Mr. McCrossan and his team were not experts. They had no idea what they were doing. He (Hank) was a good student, he was a good kid. The stigma is out there. We’re fighting to change that.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
