Summer camps have become a battleground for upstate reopening wars — with fearful locals and anxious operators in limbo awaiting direction on if and how they can open amid the coronavirus crisis.
Communities are split on whether to host children in the seasonal getaway towns, where a kumbaya on the issue is far out of reach.
“I have grave concerns,” said Fallsburg Town Supervisor Steven Vegliante. “I look at it from the standpoint of, I’m a father. I wouldn’t want my kids going to a summer camp this year.
“However, that being said, this is a decision that’s far above the town.”
Other upstate lawmakers refused to take a stance on the heated issue.
“The town’s position is, we don’t we don’t have a position,” said Thompson Town Supervisor Bill Rieber. “It’s the governor and Empire State Development [responsible for making the call].
Rieber said residents are afraid of an “influx of people” to camps, many of which serve Orthodox Jewish children from New York City.
“Brooklyn has been the hotspot of this whole equation. And most of the campers are going to come out of the New York City or the close metropolitan area. So there’s a concern with large numbers of people congregating here,” Rieber said.
Some organizations, such as Stagedoor Manor theater camp in Fallsburg and the Frost Valley YMCA have already nixed summer programming. The Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York also announced Friday it would not host camps this year.
But others are charging forward with plans to open, including Camp Hilltop in the Catskills, Long Lake Performing Arts Camp in Dobbs Ferry and dozens of Orthodox camps represented by the Association of Jewish Camp Operators.
“Parents of our campers are completely supportive of our plan and feel it is safe to send their children to a well supervised and tightly controlled environment,” said AJCO member Shlomo Pfeiffer, director of Camp Romimu in Monticello.
Meanwhile local leaders under pressure to close camps say they are becoming impatient awaiting direction from Gov. Cuomo.
“We, as Town Supervisors, need answers for the people we represent and more importantly, we need a realistic and comprehensive health plan to protect the lives of our residents and visitors alike,” the Sullivan County Association of Supervisors, which represents 15 upstate communities, wrote in a May 11 letter to State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker.
A state spokesperson said Friday that “the opening of children’s camps this summer season is under consideration, and any decisions made will be part of the comprehensive plan to lift the Governor’s PAUSE order.”
Adding to the confusion, federal guidance released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control suggests summer camps could safely reopen if certain metrics are met.
“The purpose of this tool is to assist directors or administrators in making (re)opening decisions regarding youth programs and camps during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the agency wrote, noting state and local officials will make the final call.