April 12, 1992, SHANDAKEN REVITALIZATION PLAN COMMITTEE, INC., known as the SHARP Committee , acquired property known as 15 Friendship Manor Lane, Pine Hill NY 12465. The purpose was to renovate the building to 6 apartments for low-income housing. HUD Community Block Development Grants funded this project in part, if not fully. When completed, the building, owned and managed by SHARP and commonly known as Friendship Manor had been accepting tenants who qualified for the Section 8 program.
Recently SHARP sold this property, claiming it was not financially viable. The sale of the Friendship Manor property and the pending sale of the 4-unit Lasher Road property are of great concern to the community. Shandaken had 2.4% of Ulster County’s low income housing. With the sale of both the Friendship Manor and Lasher Road apartment buildings, Shandaken now has just 1.2%, for seniors only in Phoenicia.
Jane Todd served as the Executive Director of SHARP for 13 yrs. as well as being elected to the Shandaken Town Board as a Councilperson in 1999 and is currently the Republican candidate for Shandaken Town Supervisor. Friendship Manor appeared to be a very successful project and was a welcome addition to the community. In June of 2005, rumors began to circulate that the building was being sold to Dean Gitter of Crossroads Ventures fame. Several community members questioned Jane Todd about this at the July 2005 Shandaken Town Board meeting. She stated that although the property was for sale, there was no binder on the property. She would not confirm nor deny that Dean Gitter was an interested buyer. She said that the funding had run out and while they kept the rents low, it was not subsidized like their other properties. Furthermore she stated the water bills had increased.
An excerpt from a local newspaper states;
“Jane Todd, the executive director of the Shandaken Area Revitalization Project (SHARP), said Friendship Manor, a six-unit apartment house, is for sale. The asking price is $360,000 and the property is listed with Belleayre Realty, a Fleischmann’s real estate firm. While Friendship Manor provides housing at low rents, Todd notes it is not a part of any low- or moderate-income housing program.”
Jane Todd’s statements on the matter contradict the Ulster County Rental Housing Survey 2003-2004 (and prior reports) that list Friendship Manor and the SHARP property on Lasher Rd, in the same category, Subsidized.
From Ulster County Rental Housing Survey 2003-2004:
Friendship Manor; 3-1 bedroom apts., 2-2 bed apts. And 1-3 bed apt, serving Homeless, Disabled, Median Income (<30% of Median) Low income (<50% 0f median income) .
Lasher Road; 4-2 bedroom units for Median Income (<30% of Median), Low income (<50% 0f median income) and Very Low income (<80% of median income)
Neither property was listed in the Ulster County Rental Housing 2005-2006 Survey. Additionally, it was common knowledge that Friendship Manor had been accepting Section 8, which is renewable in 5 yr increments by the landlord, in this case, the SHARP Committee.
The Friendship Manor Property was listed with Belleayre Realty, Fleischmann’s NY for $370,000.00. The listing (which is still online as of this writing) describes, “rental income is $2,000”. This seems to be an artificially deflated number as the Ulster County Rental Housing Survey’s as far back as 2004 show higher rental rates than this. In 2004 for example, average Ulster County rates were $914 for a 3-bedroom unit, $ 838 for a 2-bedroom unit and $700 for a one-bedroom unit. Even allowing for a realization of rates lower than this average based on HUD Fair Market Rent standards, $2,000 is 42.7% lower than the 2004 average.
On June 19, 2006 the Friendship Manor property was sold and deeded to Stephen P. and Jennifer Murphy of 46 12th Ave. Mineola, NY 11501. Sale Price $315,000.00 No mortgage was recorded in Ulster County.
Jennifer Tavares Murphy is daughter of Jane Todd from her first marriage.
Shortly before the purchase of Friendship Manor by the Murphy’s, on Feb. 14, 2006, Jane and Ward Todd took out a $243,000.00 mortgage on their personal residence. This home had been in his family for generations, once belonging to his grandmother.
Several other recent events, which seem to relate into this transaction are as follows,
First, in 2000, the town of Shandaken had been poised to purchase the Pine Hill Water Company, which serves the hamlet of Pine Hill, including the Friendship Manor building. The system was in disrepair, had high lead levels and an absentee owner. Just weeks before the Town of Shandaken was to receive final confirmation of the necessary funding, Dean Gitter stepped in to purchase the company instead. Despite vehement protest from the community to the Shandaken Town Board, Jane Todd, Ward Todd (Jane’s husband and Chairman of the Ulster County Legislature), and Dean Palen, Director of the Ulster County Health Department, Dean Gitter was able to purchase the company. Dean Gitter then attempted to sell back to the town what amounted to the Pine Hill Water Company pipes and not the intact water system that the grants were issued to purchase. Numerous citizens wrote to HUD, SHARP and the Town of Shandaken and objected to the HUD Grant funds being released. Jane Todd and Dean Gitter accused these citizens of sabotaging the negotiations. They forgot to mention two key facts, HUD officials agreed had those funds been incorrectly released it would have been unrepresentative of the Grant application and Dean Gitter’s attorney knew the Town could have acquired the system for free, as evidenced by a letter to Jane Todd. Among the items Dean Gitter kept when he finally relinquished the Pine Hill Water Company were legally required back up water sources, leaving the town with a system that does not meet the Ten States Standards.
Account of this transaction is significant because when the Town of Shandaken finally did acquire the company from Mr. Gitter, it was discovered that three of the largest water users, one of them being the Friendship Manor, had broken meters. These meters were promptly fixed so subsequently the water rates for these properties were increased. No records were turned over to the town to show that these properties were paying proper rates while Mr. Gitter possessed the water system. In fact the Pine Hill Water Company was turned over to the town with just a few hundred dollars in the bank. One hotel owner reportedly stated that his bills went from $90.00 per quarter to $800.00 per quarter after his meter was fixed.
Additionally, as well as being the transient owner of the Pine Hill Water Company, Dean Gitter is Managing Partner of Crossroads Ventures, the developers behind the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park. Among the countless objections to the resort plans and its impact on the community, was that one of the entrances that would have winded thru the hamlet of Pine Hill and turned Woodchuck Hollow, which is now a dead-end dirt road, into a main thoroughfare to the resort. An additional entrance was planned for Winding Mountain Road off Rte 28, however true to its name this unimproved, private dirt road seems to have it’s own impediments, like steep grade and hairpin turns. The resort planners then came up with a new entrance beginning at a 13 acre unimproved parcel that Crossroads Ventures/Dean Gitter owns adjacent to the ½ acre Friendship Manor commercially zoned lot . Furthermore this new entrance winds up the mountain and places the proposed resort’s Gatehouse a mere 50 ft from a cabin on an 11+acre parcel that Jane and Ward Todd own . The resort plans also show a road extension that extends Winding Mountain Road across the Todd parcel and joins it with the new resort entrance road. Additionally the 13 acre parcel also contains 3 wells Crossroads Ventures drilled to supply water to the proposed Belleayre Resort. Two of these wells cannot be used as they do not have the proper buffer zone , however if Crossroads Ventures were to obtain the Friendship Manor lot or reach an agreement with their new owner, these wells would be quite viable.
When questioned about this 11+acre parcel that the Todd’s purchased within weeks of Crossroad Ventures, LLC and various other companies connected to the Belleayre Resort assemblage of the properties that make up the Belleayre Resort footprint, Jane Todd stated she had “no financial interest in the resort” and bought the property to enjoy with her children. Shandaken citizens questioned this state of affairs and a letter was sent to The Shandaken Ethics Board. This Board, comprised of residents Ginger Byron (Chairman & town employee), Richard Loveless and Helen Morelli was appointed by the administration that included Jane Todd, met without training, guidelines or an understanding of the Open Meetings Law. It was simply announced at a Town Board Meeting they found no conflict.
Richard Loveless currently sits on the SHARP Committee Board of Directors.
Many questions regarding these situations need to be addressed. First, did Jane disclose to the SHARP Board of Directors that Jennifer Murphy is her daughter? If so why was it not disclosed properly on the documents from the sale?
Who negotiated the sale?
Did the SHARP Board of Directors understand the funding was renewable or if alternate funding to maintain the property as low-income housing was available?
Did Ward and Jane Todd contribute to the purchase of Friendship Manor by mortgaging the family home for $243,000.00?
What were the water bills for friendship Manor when Dean Gitter owned the water company and how much revenue was actually collected?
How high were the water bills after the town took over and the meter got fixed?
In 1999, Richard C. Stokes Jr. of Skillcat II Corp purchased the property known as the Phoenicia Hotel, in Phoenicia, town of Shandaken, NY. Initially he received $71058.57 from SHARP, $100,000.00 from the Catskill Watershed Corporation and $120,000.00 from Wilbur Bank for this property. Jane Todd was Executive Director of SHARP, while Ward Todd as an Ulster county Legislature was appointed to the Board of The Catskill Watershed Corporation. The Phoenicia Hotel was condemned several years later and finally burned on July 29, 2007. Vacant for over a year, Wilbur Bank and the Catskill Watershed Corporation had each begun foreclosure proceedings. The SHARP Committee hired Mr. Stokes as an inspector.
Richard C. Stokes Jr. purchased the property known as the Ulster or Wellington Hotel, in Pine Hill, town of Shandaken, NY. In Nov 2001. He reportedly received a Main Street Beautification Grant from the Catskill Watershed Corporation, administered by SHARP for this property.
In 2003 Mr. Stokes purchased 41.73 Acres in Phoenicia NY for $40,000. On February 21, 2003 this deed was recorded with a covenant stating that (1) No mobile home(s) shall be placed or situate on premises and (2) The premises herein conveyed shall be used for residential purposes only and no commercial activity, including but not limited to the placement of cellular towers(s) or personal wireless service facility shall be placed thereon.
On May 21, 2003, Richard C. Stokes Jr. formed Skillcat III Corp.
On May 8, 2007 he sold this parcel for $120,000.00 to ViJen Holdings LLC, of 46 12th Ave. Mineola, NY 11501. This LLC was formed on APRIL 16, 2007. ViJen Holdings LLC address is shared with Stephen P. and Jennifer Murphy. On May 8, 2007 the deed was recorded in Ulster County with above-mentioned covenant removed. No mortgage was recorded in Ulster County.
Jane and Ward Todd mortgaged a second family home that belonged to Ward’s father, Oscar Todd, for $110,000.00 on June 26, 2007
It is alleged that Jennifer Murphy and Victoria Cross, wife of current Shandaken Town Supervisor, Robert Cross Jr. are partners in ViJen Holdings LLC. When asked, Robert Cross Jr. would neither confirm nor deny this.
Victoria Cross is an employee of Dean Gitter’s Kaatskill Kaleidoscope Ventures, LLC.
As members of the Shandaken Town Board, Jane Todd and Robert Cross Jr. are currently negotiating proposals to develop a wireless communications plan for the Town of Shandaken.
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