Friday, July 15, 2011
Sullivan Hasidic boys' camp reopens
A religious boys' camp in the Town of Thompson described two weeks ago as "deplorable" and unfit to live in has been allowed to reopen.
Town officials say Camp Bias Esther on Route 17B and Coopers Corner Road has fixed the most serious code violations. The Bobov Hasidic camp serves roughly 600 boys, ages 5 to 13, from Brooklyn, Monsey and Toronto. The kids began moving in Wednesday.
Officials in late June closed the camp within days of opening. In October, the town cited the camp for 99 violations, which remained unfixed this summer. The town closed and posted the buildings after finding raw sewage on the ground, electrical wires in the trees and numerous structural problems, like collapsed porches and doors hanging off the hinges.
Town Code Enforcement Officer Logan Ottino scratched 45 items from the list during inspections.
Ottino said on Thursday the other violations were largely "cosmetic" and the camp could safely occupy all but two buildings. One building, known as units 1-7, has structural problems and will remained boarded through the summer.
An electrician worked at the camp for two weeks and an alarm company has certified that all alarms are functioning, according to the group's consulting engineer, Bill Sattler. The group has also cut the grass and replaced footing pads, posts and bracings on several units.
"We have, in fact, opened and we have done an extraordinary amount of work in extraordinary quick time," said Harry Reicher, a law professor and member of the Brooklyn-based group. "It is a tremendous blessing to have this in the summer. There is not the slightest risk that we would permit for our children."
Sattler, in a letter to town Building Inspector T.J. Brawley, said he "lectured" camp manager Mendel Goldberg that "their lack of maintenance had made his camp an eyesore and showed disrespect to the local people."
Sattler wrote that Goldberg assured him the work will continue until in full compliance, the grounds will be better kept and buildings painted.
Ramon Cedeira, a salesman who owns property next to the camp, said the neighbors don't believe the camp is safe. He said buildings are propped up by two-by-fours and the group appears to have boarded up some of the broken windows and painted them over.
"I am skeptical and I got blasted at the Town Board meeting because I went against (Town Supervisor) Tony Cellini," Cedeira said. "It is an eyesore, It is not healthy for kids. It is getting worse."
The former Catskill resort, known as the Esther Manor, is where singer Neil Sedaka met his wife. Sedaka played in a band that performed at the hotel. He later married the daughter of the resort's owners.
"T.J. went out there yesterday and did an inspection," Cellini said. "It is an enormous amount of work they have done in two weeks."
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110715/NEWS/107150368/-1/SITEMAP
Town officials say Camp Bias Esther on Route 17B and Coopers Corner Road has fixed the most serious code violations. The Bobov Hasidic camp serves roughly 600 boys, ages 5 to 13, from Brooklyn, Monsey and Toronto. The kids began moving in Wednesday.
Officials in late June closed the camp within days of opening. In October, the town cited the camp for 99 violations, which remained unfixed this summer. The town closed and posted the buildings after finding raw sewage on the ground, electrical wires in the trees and numerous structural problems, like collapsed porches and doors hanging off the hinges.
Town Code Enforcement Officer Logan Ottino scratched 45 items from the list during inspections.
Ottino said on Thursday the other violations were largely "cosmetic" and the camp could safely occupy all but two buildings. One building, known as units 1-7, has structural problems and will remained boarded through the summer.
An electrician worked at the camp for two weeks and an alarm company has certified that all alarms are functioning, according to the group's consulting engineer, Bill Sattler. The group has also cut the grass and replaced footing pads, posts and bracings on several units.
"We have, in fact, opened and we have done an extraordinary amount of work in extraordinary quick time," said Harry Reicher, a law professor and member of the Brooklyn-based group. "It is a tremendous blessing to have this in the summer. There is not the slightest risk that we would permit for our children."
Sattler, in a letter to town Building Inspector T.J. Brawley, said he "lectured" camp manager Mendel Goldberg that "their lack of maintenance had made his camp an eyesore and showed disrespect to the local people."
Sattler wrote that Goldberg assured him the work will continue until in full compliance, the grounds will be better kept and buildings painted.
Ramon Cedeira, a salesman who owns property next to the camp, said the neighbors don't believe the camp is safe. He said buildings are propped up by two-by-fours and the group appears to have boarded up some of the broken windows and painted them over.
"I am skeptical and I got blasted at the Town Board meeting because I went against (Town Supervisor) Tony Cellini," Cedeira said. "It is an eyesore, It is not healthy for kids. It is getting worse."
The former Catskill resort, known as the Esther Manor, is where singer Neil Sedaka met his wife. Sedaka played in a band that performed at the hotel. He later married the daughter of the resort's owners.
"T.J. went out there yesterday and did an inspection," Cellini said. "It is an enormous amount of work they have done in two weeks."
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110715/NEWS/107150368/-1/SITEMAP
Comments:
Post a Comment
