![The Summitville and Wurtsboro Fire Departments work near the site of a fuel spill at the former Homowack Lodge on July 9. [For the Times Herald-Record/MIKE RICE]](http://www.vinnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/skv8.jpg "skv8")
Spring Glen, NY – The man who blew the whistle on dangers inside the former Homowack Lodge calls the conditions in the resort “a deathtrap waiting to happen” and says the state and town response to a standoff with a Hasidic sect has been beyond weak.
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Summitville fire Chief Tim Koestler said he’s horrified that men, women and children were still in the resort.
The state Department of Health gave the property owners and a religious camp nearly two weeks to fix code violations or leave voluntarily, then allowed them to defy a deadline and remain another week in spite of a state order to vacate.
Koestler, a plumbing and heating contractor, says conditions are so unsafe that the camp operator, Congregation Bais Trana, should have been evacuated July 7. On that day, he and town officials toured the buildings after the camp opened without a permit. All the girls were gathered in the indoor tennis courts and wore dust masks because of mold.
“You could literally take your hand and scrape the mold off the walls in the basement,” he said.
Conditions were so obviously a danger and a firetrap, he said, that no competent code inspector or health official could dispute the need for an immediate evacuation.
Even if the Health Department ultimately forces them out, Koestler said the state, the Town of Mamakating supervisor and code enforcement officer have put at risk some 265 girls and 35 families for weeks by failing to act more aggressively.
“I like to point my finger right at the town and the state,” he said. “If you or I did something like this, we would be closed up. It seems nothing is being done.”
As of Friday, an unknown number of girls and families were still staying at the resort, now known as Machne Bnos Square. The congregation defied a Monday deadline to leave.
Town Supervisor Bob Fiore recently said some people have left and others were going. The town periodically checks on progress, but has deferred enforcement to the Health Department. He couldn’t be reached Friday.
“We are still reviewing our legal options,” Health Department spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said Friday. “There is not going to be anything new over the weekend.”
Koestler said state and town officials have known about the dangers for at least two years, but have done little or no follow-up to ensure the camp complied and brought the hotel up to code.
State and town officials and the chief and assistant chief of the Summitville Fire Department met in September with Dov Goldman, a man representing the ownership group. Numerous violations were discussed.
“I am tired of beating a dead horse there,” Koestler said. “There is enough work in that building to keep 10 crews of men busy for two years.”
The girls are staying in two three-story buildings connected to the complex and indoor tennis courts. Hallway fire door exits were padlocked or blocked. Some doors don’t open all the way.
Large holes in the walls and ceilings can make a fire jump more quickly through the buildings, Koestler said, while electrical and plumbing violations could spark a fire. He said pervasive mold should have been enough to order an immediate evacuation.
A mikvah — a ritual bath — in the cellar also scared him. An open cistern collects rainwater. A toddler could wander down, easily fall into the pool and drown.
“It is totally open and it is full of water,” he said. “I don’t know how deep it is, but deep enough for a person to drown in.”
Koestler said he was making unannounced fire inspections to ensure the camp was doing 24-hour fire watches as required, but soon got a call from Fiore at Town Hall.
“I was asked nicely not to go back to the Homowack unless we have a fire alarm.”
The intention of dina demalchusa dina is chiefly for safety,though there are other reasons for it. It seems that there is no discrimination of other side reasons for the area being considered unsafe and requiring evacuation. It may be difficult, but Yidden have been through harder situations than this. Just follow directions and get out of there.
a huge kiddush hashem. no one could ever drown in the mikveh it is a mukom of kedisha. we will show those inspectors that hashem protects our children not some fire or health code.
These people are fools. Nothing short of fools. Apart from the obvious chillul Hashem involved, they are endangering their lives and the lives of their families.
if its really dangerous as he says then why are the girls and the families risking living there? are they waiting for something tragic to happen? they are playing around with heilige yiddishe neshomos. unless this is all made up which i highly doubt. unfortunately alot of frum people dont take these things seriously and try to cut corners.
Recently another heimishe colony was criticized for opening a shul without the permits, and there too the town sounded the ‘its unsafe’ bell. When it went to court, and the judge personally inspected it, it became clear that the town had a personal agenda, and it was perfectly safe. Not knowing differently, I would need to assume the same is true with this story. So let’s withold our criticism and give them the chance to say their side of the story.
Why do we need this to become a chilul hashem-isnt saftey in the torah?
Sounds like Koestler is not getting work from them I smell a RAT !!!
The onlly immediate solution is for the town to SHUT all electric.This would force them to send home the kinderlech who are [cvs] at high risk of danger.Do not delay and say later ” I told you so “.
hi
I wos there dotay and it is like any auter bungelouw coleny
This is a big Chilel Hashem, I think that we have to organize protests outside the camp, show the world that we don’t stand with the irresponsible camp management, of course we should first check if it is really unsafe.
It is a well known fact that there exists pockets of real old fashioned anti semitisim in Sullivan County . Don’t believe me ask any builder or colony manager who tried working there, the fact that no lawsuit was commenced is because there is no immediate danger . Rest assured that the true problem is that the building is tax exempt , and that they are not blowing record sums on enough contracting job to the locals !! ….Its all about money!! Yidden! Register… to vote upstate. That local fire chief should not be talking to the press, Way Way out of line..
Don’t all you mekablai rechilus, realize that this guy (goy) that you so readily are believing every word of his, is actually a plumber. Do you really think that the only person really concerned for the safety of these kids, is this urel.nobody on the staff cares, the town doesn’t care, the state doesn’t care. Obviously its not as black and white as it looks.
as a former yeshiva student i can honestly say all yeshivas in my days in the fifties and sixties and camps were a fire and safety hazard .but the rosh yeshivas and campowners did not have safety issues in their homes or apartments in israel.
it is this selfish narrowmindness mentality that yeshiva owners and campowners still have .
Just read his words: himself a plumbing contracter, I believe he didn’t get the job he wanted over there, I know these ppl there I have been working with them if u wanna stay out of trouble u need to use the inspecters husbend or the fire chief……. And if that would be immediate danger the town and the doh would speak not the fire chief.
If you look at history; all the anti-Semites in their time always worried about the health and good being of the Jews. Even when we arrived by train to destination Auschwitz, they wanted us to take a shower… And those who lived always had to clean themselves from lice.
I am not comparing, but dont give me this BS they suddenly worry for OUR lives…
I am not saying those Jews are correct in this case. But look at White Lake. We were quick to condemn UTA. then it turns out….. Even the judge and building inspect is on their side. It was just one Supervisor who decided to block them; with the same excuse; or “our” well being…
I just dont buy it any more.
I passed there last week and they had some construction going on. So obviously they are still there and the town and health dept. didn’t throw them out with force, Don’t forget the town told the fire inspecter not to come again so in my opinion he has some agenda, presuming that they hired his comptition to do the work,
Hi to all my fellow Jews, I’m in the Catskill’s like most of Klal Yisroel, about 2 hrs. ago I saw the article on VIN so I drove down to Spring Glen I’m typing now on my BlackBerry while I go around here, I asked someone to show me who the manager is, I went over to him and introduced myself as one who reads many article’s throughout this summer and I ask why don’t you come out and say the real story and you could prevent a Chilul Hashem, so he told me that a court case is set for this week and we will see after what’s going to happen, he took me on a tour here are the “FACTS”
1) It’s a joke! They are not even there at the same building they are completely on a different corner, and he explained that the whole catskill region is full of buildings which is closed because the hazardous involved, and they don’t make a issue out of it, but over here its a tax issue because it use to be a Hotel so they paid taxes but now its shut down, so there is only the camp and its a non profit like any other Yeshiva so they are angry about it
2) I asked him to show me the mikva its locked like any normal mikva around, I went over to the hotel building I couldn’t go in its locked and shut down, I asked why don’t u demolish and the whole argument is over, he told me because they might renovate it again in a few years no they don’t have the money for it
3) The girls are having a blast there, its a beautiful facility, he did admit that because the big fight going on with the town they didn’t manage to open all the shower’s before the summer I found it interesting… but now everything is normal, nice, clean, I would even send my daughter there if I would belong to that sect
4) The most important he pointed out that by law the health dept. could shut down the place and the police and other enforcement personal are ready when needed, but over here the truth is they can’t do nothing because everything is legal and good condition the only thing is they don’t have a permit because the town refused to give them because they want taxes which they don’t need to give, AND THAT’S WHY THEY KEEP ON SAYING “VOLONTEERILY” TO GO OUT because they have no power to send them out
Sorry if I repeat something twice or the grammar or spelling is not good because I write this on my BB Live on the scene there, I advice all my fellow Jews go down check it out yourself,
Thanks to the manager for giving his time for me, and I hope the judge will see by the court case the real truth and force the town to give a permit,
P.S. I do advice them to demolish the hotel building even if you plan to renovate because its anyways so old, so why not demolish and when you have extra bucks build from scratch, and everything will be OK for both sides
I am here to say the full truth. I happen to know one of the people who are running the camp. According to what he is telling me the article is full of lies. This is his version of the story.
In the past the camp only dealt with the health department. They followed their requirements and did what they told them to do. Now let me quote you the words of the inspector who came about a month before the camp opened to inspect “THIS IN ONE OF THE NICEST CAMPS THAT I HAVE IN ISPECTED IN THIS REGION” and they passed with flying colors. About a week before camp was suppose to open the camp received a phone call from the health department which told them the following. “We were just informed that your operation of running a camp at your location does not comply with the Town Codes. Thus, you must obtain a new permit to change the location from Hotel to Camp”. Now why did the town wake up now??? Why did they wake up a week before camp? Why didn’t the town let them know about this problem last year or the year before? When SKVER went ahead without the change the Town went on a scavenger hunt to find every problem possible.
Regarding the violations that were mentioned, my friend tells me that they are totally fabricated. Let’s take one by one.
1) Holes in the wall- he says it’s not true, whatever was a problem was fixed a long time ago.
2) Girls wearing masks- There was an activity that the girls were playing that involved them acting out with masks (everybody in the camp).
3) Electrical hazards- They had licensed electrical contactors who fixed and repaired all problems, and they certified that the camp is no way facing any fire risk what-so-ever.
4) Mold- yes, there was a problem which was remedied by a professional company that specializes in mold removal. They got rid of the entire mold.
5) The MIKVA is like any other Mikva and there is a regular lock like every mikva has.
It’s very obvious that the people who are attacking SKVER have an agenda. I will let you make the decision of what their agenda is. The people running the camp are wonderful people who care about the safety of children as much as anyone else.
I feel that we will see in court next week that all the above is true!!
Please be DAN LKAF ZCHUS!!!
If it is really only a case of “anti-Semitism”,get a lawyer and sue them for discrimination.If they don’t sue the county,then perhaps it is merely snubbing the law. Bribes help,but are illegal. Many inspectors are crooks who will not issue permits without shmear money.
Those town guys are
A corrupt bunch. corrupacorrupt political bunch. Do not believe a wors those guys say.
i accept number 30 at his word and the fact that lawers are involved tells me let them deal with it on their own and not to worry about chilul hashem
Those town guys are
A corrupt political bunch. Do not believe a word those guys say.
As someone who has been through the process I can say, those inspectors take good cookies and rugelech. If you do not provide them enough then the code becomes something unachievable. So stop criticizing the chassidim. They know exactly how to deal with this fire chief. Btw, last year the fire chief was caught for taking money in a arson case.
” Koestler said. “There is enough work in that building to keep 10 crews of men busy for two years.”
That’s one give away as to what he really wants out of this! Just give them the work & everything will quite down.
“I was asked nicely not to go back to the Homowack unless we have a fire alarm.”
Obviously its not dangerous or the town wouldn’t tell him that!
So to all Jew Lovers out there Yelling “Chillul Hashem” & “Highly Doubting” that maybe the people involved are not putting anyone in danger & that’s they have a lawyer that they are doing everything within the law. please do some real research before you put your mouth in gear.
I have personally spoken to one of the people involved that is on site weekly & just might know a little more real facts then this guy trying to make some money off the Jews.
Just so you have one more fact strait. under the homowak the town was making a lot of money off taxes which they are not getting now due to it being a non profit organization. so ever since that happened the town started having “Problems” with that camp which they have nothing from having them there.
I hope you get a clearer picture to what the issue really is about.
“All the girls were gathered in the indoor tennis courts and wore dust masks because of mold.” Oh, come on…that definitely sounds impossible…that being said, we all should work not to antagonize the permanent residents of Sullivan County…Look, if you were one of them, wouldn’t you be annoyed at thousands of strangers coming to take over the county for two months of the year?