Judge denies request to allow opening of Orthodox sleepaway camps in Catskills
A
federal judge on Monday refused to grant a temporary order allowing
Orthodox Jewish sleepaway camps in the Catskills to open in spite of a
state ban on overnight children's camps this summer because of
coronavirus concerns.
In a 43-page ruling,
Chief Judge Glenn Suddaby of the Northern District of New York expressed
sympathy for the religious beliefs of the affected families, but said
he also "must acknowledge the extenuating circumstances of the COVID-19
virus and its impact throughout the world."
"Although
the State of New York has made progress in limiting the transmission of
the virus in recent weeks, the recent resurgence of positive COVID-19
cases in several states raises concerns and is a painful reminder that
the fight is far from over," Suddaby wrote.
He
also concluded that allowing overnight camps to open would bring
children from more densely populated areas and other states to rural
areas with low COVID-19 levels and limited hospital beds to handle any
surge in virus cases.
The underlying lawsuit
challenging the state order is still pending, although it may soon be
moot.
Some overnight camps already have begun operating as day camps? -
which were allowed to open in New York last week - by busing campers
back and forth each day, apparently from as far away as Brooklyn.
Sullivan
County has 169 active children's camps of all types, and Ulster County
has 74, according to the state Department of Health. As of last Monday,
37 Sullivan day camps had started up and five more were about to do so.
Ulster had four open day camps and was expected to have another two by
this week.
The lawsuit against Gov. Andrew
Cuomo was brought by the Association of Jewish Camp Operators, which
represents 75 Orthodox camps attended by more than 40,000 children each
summer, according to the court papers. The plaintiffs argued that the
decision announced on June 12 to prohibit overnight camps would block an
essential part of the religious upbringing of Orthodox children and
violated religious rights. (Hard to believe these guys are not working for the NYC Sanitation dept.) pm
They also cast the
state as hypocritical for allowing other activities with equal or worse
exposure risks, emphasizing the many street protests that followed the
killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in late May. (Redefining Shysters Down) pm
In
past summers, more than 200,000 kids in all attended roughly 550
overnight camps in New York. The state's.attorneys argued in court
papers last week that the prohibition applied to all of those camps,
regardless of any religious affiliation, and that the plaintiffs were
seeking an exemption from a decision that had sound health reasons.
"That
determination was rationally made on the basis that overnight camps
involve children and adults sleeping and eating in close proximity in an
enclosed space for an extended period of time, greatly increasing the
risk of spread of the virus," wrote Chris Liberati-Conant, an assistant
attorney general.
He pointed out that during a
flu outbreak in 2009, 1,600 campers or staff members in New York are
known to have caught the illness, almost all of them at overnight camps.
Attorneys
for the camp operators responded that the closure was indeed
discriminatory because "only Jewish overnight camps were attempting to
operate this summer by the time of Defendant’s announcement." They also
accused the state of not respecting the significance of religion-infused
camping. (These morons didn't realize even the YMCA Christians thought they are nuts) pm
"Defendant gives no weight whatsoever
to this critical religious activity," the attorneys wrote. "Defendant
does not value it, and therefore sees no reason to accommodate it."(shame on these idiots) pm
The
association had sent Cuomo a letter on May 10 imploring him to allow
overnight camps to open and outlining the health precautions it had
developed with doctors to avoid coronavirus infections. They argued that
overnight camps were "the safest place for campers" and staff because
they could be locked down and no one came and went. (The lies keep rolling out of their mouths unashamed like Trump on a good day!) pm
The
Department of Health told camp operators in a recent letter that many
of them had gotten permits to open as "temporary residences," and warned
them about the mandates they would have to follow, including a
requirement that parents stay overnight with their children. (Better follow the rules or else!) pm
The
department didn't respond to questions from the Times Herald-Record
about how many camps got those permits. In a statement to the Record
last week, officials said the prohibition on overnight camps was based
on science and meant to protect children, and vowed to stop any attempts
to get around the ban. (Science? what's that) pm
"While we understand
the disappointment of families and camp operators alike, the Department
intends to investigate any attempts to circumvent this directive and
will also ensure that camps with valid permits for day camp operations
are in compliance with all pandemic guidelines," the statement read.
The Monticello District Office oversees the Environmental Health programs in Sullivan County. Please feel free to contact the Monticello District Office at (845) 794-2045.
https://sullivanny.us/contact
The Monticello District Office oversees the Environmental Health programs in Sullivan County. Please feel free to contact the Monticello District Office at (845) 794-2045.
https://sullivanny.us/contact