This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Rigger, Torres and now Claxton. Starting to see a pattern here...

Drew Claxton, lifelong resident of Peekskill holds a degree in economics from NYU. Drew divorced her first husband Frederick in the late 1980's. Her longtime companion is Rupert "Ted" Bitter and they (individually or jointly) own The Bean Runner Cafe under the corporation known as Annie Owens Holding Corp.

ANNIE OWENS
In 2002 Annie Owens Holding Corp. buys the Bean Runner building for $140,000. The boarded up abandoned building undergoes extensive renovations prior to its opening. These renovations  were estimated to have exceeded $150,000. So how was all this financed? The financial documents on file at the Westchester County Clerks office show a $240,000 mortgage was taken out on the Hillcrest Condo (worth maybe half that amount). That mortgage was approved.

WORKING THE SYSTEM
On November 30, 2007, Drew, along with her son, Frederick Claxton III, obtains a (kind of) grant for $15,000 from the NYS Affordable Housing Program, the same program accessed by Andy Torres,and a second (kind of) grant for $25,000 from The Preservation Company. Both mortgages are taken out against property located and known as 110 Fremont Street where frederick Claxton III resides.
Now the Affordable Housing Grant is a restricted program for first time home buyers and requires owner occupancy, both conditions Drew certified under penalty of perjury. The Preservation Company, a program based at 1037 Main Street, home of the Health Center, is, in facta part of The Health Center. The Preservation Company acquires properties and/or makes grants for those who meet strict income limits for things like new windows, new furnaces and things like that.The Preservation Company also requires "owner occupancy" for its 'grants' and Drew certified that condition was true (under penalty of perjury). The Preservation Company is NOT a source of money for investors to access for investment properties. 
Here, The Preservation Company made a mortgage/grant of $25,000 to Drew for improvements (since it could not be for acquisition) to 110 Fremont Street.One drive by will allow the reader to judge if it looks like $40,000 was invested there or, more likely, was it diverted to pay the renovation of the Bean Runner building?

ALL IN THE FAMILY
Honorable Airborne do not so honorable things.As if we need more, The Preservation Company mortgage and the NYS Affordable Housing grant, to be legally binding, need to be executed before a Notary Public, and both are, by a Notary named "Rupert Bitter". This is odd since a Notary cannot act to notarize signatures in any transaction he may have 'a beneficial interest' in OR in which he knows the contents are not true.

CONFLICTED INTERESTS Strange, fishy, untruthful, illegal, and improper fund diversions? Questions the public deserves an answer to. And time constraints do not permit mes to examine the 30% reduction in real estate taxes Drew secured for TBRC under suspicious circumstances while a sitting Council member or her not recusing herself on Peekskill Health Center or The Preservation Company votes taken before the Council. This may explain Ted's bitter comments here and desperation to prevent a housecleaning at City Hall. Something to ponder when making a decision in the voting booth.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?