Spring Glen, NY – The state plans to serve a Hasidic sect today with an order to leave the former Homowack Lodge, the state Department of Health’s district director, Mark Knudsen.
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The sect, based in Rockland County, runs a camp at the old hotel without a permit and continues to ignore requests to evacuate voluntarily in spite of warnings the buildings are firetraps.
The Department of Health says about 265 campers from Congregation Bais Trana remain on the grounds, as do about 35 families. The department’s legal staff is preparing what is known as a commissioner’s order to vacate, but this doesn’t necessarily mean a two-week standoff with state and local officials will be over.
If Congregation Bais Trana doesn’t comply, the state will involve the attorney general’s office and commence a court action to force the camp to leave, a spokesman for the department said.
The congregation’s original application to the state for a permit to run a camp indicated that 340 girls and about 30 boys would attend.
“We have never received an accurate accounting of their population,” Knudsen said.
There were no reported injuries Saturday when an unused three-story building on the property burned to the ground. Authorities believe it was arson. Firefighters returned to the property in the afternoon, but the call turned out to be a false alarm.
Town of Mamakating records indicate problems with the camp go back months.
By opening in early July, the camp openly defied the state.
On June 30, the DOH denied the permit because the camp wasn’t in compliance with town regulations and didn’t have a fire plan, town records indicate.
Neither did the group have a special-use permit from the town to switch the property’s status from a hotel to a girls’ camp.
County and town emergency personnel have called the buildings firetraps. Inspectors have found multiple code violations: holes in the walls, ceilings caving in, and water, sewer, electrical and plumbing problems. Sprinklers and fire alarms don’t work.
The DOH plans to hold an administrative hearing on Aug. 13 in Monticello that will address what can be done to enforce the codes.
In December, the town forced the owner to put up notices on several buildings indicating that the fire suppression systems were disabled and the buildings were vacant.
Wednesday morning, lights were on in some of these buildings and people were inside.
The former Homowack, now Machne Bnos Square, is owned by Ulster Mountain LLC, which has a Spring Valley address, according to county records.
The DOH says Congregation Bais Trana has been operating the camp.
It is unclear if the two groups are affiliated.
I suspect the responsible parents have already taken their girls home from this firetrap. The Skever should send buses today to bring home any still left in the buildings and shut them down until all the code violations are corrected. This matter should not have been left hanging for almost two weeks after the fire chief said he would not allow emergency personnel into the building in the case of a fire because it was so dangerous.
Cut it out enough Chilul Hashem
it’s about time someone begins to fine these people with HUGE FINES.
They could do such good just by OBEYING THE RULES. Why do they think they can do anything they want AGAINST the LAW, and get away with it?
They care not for the safety of the safety of the children!
I’m just sorry they took so long to shut the camp down.
I speak from someone who was placed in such a situation, and my par3ents refused to allow us to stay in the camp!
Com’on you don’t have to believe EVERYTHING the media reports… You should have enough brains to understand there IS a second side to the story….
I’m sure Skewer had a license engineer inspect the buildings. . . .
genug !!!!
Do you people commenting here still don’t see how this Upstate Officials love us jews… they just coming up with all health & safety problems by every jewish thing.. name it Gibbers-Vishnitz. Lapidos-Satmar.. & the lists goes on… it pains to see how this self hatred jews are getting excited every timr the Jew Lover-Record spread their hate on KJ etc…this all fringe ppl start screaming ‘Dina dmalchisa dina’ what’s w/Loshon hora-Dan lkav Zchus or Sinas Yisroel…
It is much better to yell at the Skver administartors who are much too slow to repair the violations, rather than to chas veshalom yell at Skver after there is a fire and children might get hurt.
The engineers Sver hired cannot win a fight with the state’s engineers. Danger comes from waiting and from dragging this thing out.
Question: Who are they playing with?
Answer: They are playing with the lives of the children.
Please, Skver, please fix the problems and have a decent relationship with the authorities. I do not believe that the people from the fire department are against Jews. I believe they are helping us by pointing out things that would make life safer for our children and adults too. Sure it is a pain in the neck to hear all those violations and worse, to have to dal with them. However, it is G-d forbid a pain in the heart and the soul, if a child might c”v get hurt.
You think I like to get a ticket for double parking even if I had a good reason? I pay it get on with life.
I know I will be bashed for what I’m writing here, but at least I will try to give an accurate report on the facts.
The camp has some minor violations like every single camp has. (Imagine your house, if you realise the battery is missing, I don’t think you’ll evacuate your family to a nearby hotel…..). These minor violations where never a problem in the previous years. In fact this camp is even better equipped then 90% of heimishe camps. The facilities are open for anyone to inspect.
This camp is operating already for a few years with BH great success.
Let me clarify what happened this year. Skver bought this property in 2005 to build their future new village, shtetel, there. In the meantime they are using the hotel as a girls camp. The Skvere Rabbi instructed the community leaders to leave it incorporated as a hotel and to pay the full amount of taxes as long as there is an hotel also operating on the site (although they were able to divide the property in half and claim 2 separate entities, with one as a non-profit camp with tax exemption). The Skvere Rabbi instructed to do so, although it cost close to $350,000.00(!) annually, so not to aggravate the local officials and town leaders. And to make a Kidush Hasem to our neighbors there.
This year as the economy declined, and business of the hotel decreased, the managers of the site decided, that it would be cheaper to close down the hotel, and file for a camp with a tax exemption.
The town officials declared that they will do everything in their power it shouldn’t be a legal camp, so that they can collect they’re taxes! So the only safety hazard is that the county and town will lose money this year.
That’s the reason of the name change, as you saw in the article.
Btw, Do you see one of the complaints? I will quote the article:
“The congregation’s original application to the state for a permit to run a camp indicated that 340 girls and about 30 boys would attend.
“We have never received an accurate accounting of their population,” Knudsen said.”
Wow, what a claim. A real safety hazard……..
For those of you who are still mad, I have news for you. All the violations are in an attached building, not used. But the county claims they don’t trust Skver that it won’t be used…… What a claim. But a correct claim if you need the tax money and you dont wanna approve it as a camp.
Whoever wants to contradict should please go and inspect the site first…..
One small comment. Skver called down privately a health inspector from a different town (can’t name who for obvious reasons), to make sure everything is safe….
This is ridiculous! This is not a matter of anti semitism rather it is a matter of not listening to the authorities. Why do they think they are better then everyone else and above the law?
The old Homowack and Bethel, why can’t they just follow the laws plain and simple. You come up to the Catskills for 8 weeks and think the officials up here are anti semetic, boy you have got that all wrong. Take Bethel for instance the inspector ruled it us safe, now what would happen if a beam fell on someone, who would you blame then the town or the wonderful Hasidim?
Before Bashing Jews, Just take a look at the Camp & Check it out for yourself.. a Beautiful camp much safer then most Bungalow Colony, its a Normal Structure what was Considered safe to be a Hotel for 1000’s of ppl, is not Safe for a Camp of 265 Girl’s.. C’mon Cut this Crap… cut the Hate.. stop bashing Rabbi’s & Jews just cuz u have some personal Hate…
Sorry, guys. I saw the place when it was a hotel and I saw the place now. Yes, it *was* safe for a hotel for thousands of people, back when they were still doing maintenance on it. It’s a shame what’s happened to the place; I was a regular there and while it was never the Ritz Carlton, at least Tom managed to keep the roofs from falling in.
Two weeks passed and according to their claims this place is so dangerous but all the Health Department could do in the frame of the law was a request to evacuate “voluntarily”?! Ah! Must be that the danger is not THAT big!…
Sorry all Big Mouths..you gotta GO LOOK the place before your doing this MITZVAH of Bashing jews.. The building used for the Camp is SAFER then most of the camps, there is an other bulding NOTHING with this Camp standing EMPTY, plus there’s a 3rd Bulding where some ‘Satmara Kolel’ is using part of it, that has small problems LESS then Most camps.. Its very Easy & Nasty, Shamful to see how our own Brothers don’t bother to Think positive.. just straight Bashing..
WHY WAS the BEIS HAMIKDASH CHURIV? cuz SINAS CHINUM.. Some comments here are full of hate what you can expect of the Record! But not From our own Brothers like Av.Abba etc.. Isn’t now the 9 Days?! we gotta work on Sinas Chinum..
Stop Bashig ANY JEW
Stop bashing ANY COMMUNITY
Stop Bashing ANY RABBI/RAV
there is enough Tzurois on the world we don’t need more by doing the Mitzvah of Worry 4 the safety like all this Jew Lovers.. Record etc..
Let’s Do Tshuva..
These jews have made a color war break out here. They are a joke!