The following is a Times Herald Record article:
Judge Burton Ledina has given a Hasidic group another weekend at the former Homowack Lodge.
The judge set a new deadline of 5 p.m. Sunday for the Congregation Bais Trana to evacuate girls from the resort, which emergency personnel have called a potential deathtrap for weeks.
The group’s attorney, Perry Meltzer, filed an emergency application for an extension on Wednesday afternoon. A one-hour hearing was held in Monticello. An assistant attorney general participated by telephone conference call.
On Tuesday, Ledina ordered the group to remove roughly 150 to 160 people, including about 100 to 120 girls at a camp, by 5 p.m. Thursday. The girls and other families have been staying in two buildings connected to the main complex and indoor tennis courts. DOH officials say there is ample evidence they have been using other buildings they promised not to use.
The resort is located off Route 209 near the Ulster County line.
State, town and county emergency personnel have called the resort, now known as Machne Bnos Square, a serious fire hazard and the Congregation has been cited for numerous code and health and safety violations.
As a condition of the extension, the Congregation agreed not to use the indoor pool or the kitchen, and to lock all doors and buildings not being used.
Meals will have to be delivered, or the Congregation must go elsewhere for meals. Only service personnel is allowed in the kitchen area.
The Congregation has also agreed to call parents and notify them of the new conditions.
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16 Responses
An appeals court just vacated the order by the lower court. The camp is now free to remain pending the appeals court hearing the appeal later this month, and rendering a decision.
What is the other side to this story? What parents would allow their kids to stay in a place that is a fire hazard?!? There must be more to this. Why would they risk children’s lives?
So now we find out that not only did they blatantly disregard the courts order to leave the premises, but they lied and used rooms which were supoosedly vacant as well. I am surprised people are content with making justifications for people who have zero care for The State and more importantly their children. How can you risk close to 150 children’s lives? These acts by the Skver community shall be frowned upon, not rationalized. Everyone must stop making excuses for people who feel they are above the law of the govenrment and laws of safety. And if a person wants to say: “why are you not being dan lekaf zechuz?” I ask you, what happened to a) dina demalchusa dina and b) ushmartem meod lenafshoseichem. Do not be frum when it is convenient to be. This story is an abomination to the jewish people as a whole.
The story is just as fishy as some of the others on here. If the grounds are considered a deathtrap by “emergency personnel” at this second in time, how can a judge extend the time to vacate?
#2 – It’s called Moldyhoizen by proxy…
Why should they be allowed to stay an extra time in the deathtrap of a place? they broke the law, seemingly still break the law and put so many children in danger and they are allowed to stay? how can their parents sleep at night?
the point is to keep pushing it off for another week or so, until camp ends anyway.
# 3 with a person like you we can never win . you must have some sort of guilt complex like the self hating liberal Jews . the local court said you have to leave , however in the united states when one loses a case he has the right to appeal the judges decision . there is nothing wrong with that. now all the inspectors had to do at the appeal process was to tell the appeals court judge how unsafe the camp was. for whatever reason , the judge agreed with the skver camp. wake up this is america.
I remember as a bochur staying at the Homowack with my family. It was a really nice place back then. What happened to it?
I’m alarmed at all the naivte exhibited by many of the posters on this website.
The Skverer Rebbe is famous for his wisdom and generousity in helping the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, and anyone with a difficult problem.
People make the trip to New Square from all over the world, because they know they will have acces to a rare opportunity for assistance with their most difficult problems.
Do you think this Rebbe would expose his dearest treasures–his own people’s children–to a “deathtrap?”
Don’t you realize that this is a frame-up? Every building in Boro-park, Williamsburg, Flatbush, and Crown Heights could be cited for numerous violations, if the City chose to conduct a “Code Action.” I know this from personal experience. I ran a landlord out by making his life miserable with inspection after inspection.
It’s easier than you think. The lawbook is very thick, and no one can be fully in compliance, without going bankrupt.
Someone doesn’t like Hassidim, and has decided to “Run them out of town.”
I don’t care who is right. this could be an anti Hassidim anti orthodox antisemitism plot. or this could be a dangerous place that is not keeping with the law.
but this is just another chilul Hashem even if it is not intended. sometimes we as Jews, and as peopl,e have to go beyond in order to make a kidush Hashem or prevent a Chilul Hashem.
#11 You are right. Another case of “they’re out to get us.” It could be that the judge realized that being out by Thursday night might cause Shabbat problems for the girls.
Thank you number 9 for proving my exact point. This is America and as Americans we must abide by their laws. Skver specifically stated they would not use 2 different rooms and they did. That is what we call deception and lying. In America, a country we owe a great deal of appreciation to, there is a set of ground rules which we must abide by. If we do not abide by them we are breaking the law. They were told that they cannot use the rooms and they did. How can you justify that? It has nothing to do with the appeal to the judicial system or not. The State claims they have “ample evidence” that they were using these rooms. Furthermore, it is not about winning or losing an argument. I am not in grade school and If you would like to be deemed the “winner” of the argument I will “concede victory.” In front of the entire board I will declare, “yosse has won.” Now that we have moved on from that nonsense, I am just trying to point out the obvious chilul hashem that is taking place. For you not to see it, or to ignore it, is quite disturbing. I am not a liberal, I am just a regular 22 year old kid who sees the truth in the situation rather than being biased and wrong.
#3- Another wise post. It seems like you are on of the few who remain who actually care about the system of laws put in place by this country of ours. To #9- this is not about winning or losing. This is not color war which apparently Skver camp will not be having at the Homowack this year, it’s about listening to the law and obeying it. The point is not that they are appeaking it but rather that there should not be any code violations to begin with. It’s not about hating jews but about us doing the right thing so others dont hate us. This chillul Hashem will only grow with each appeal. Just get up and fix the problem and let these kids sleep in a normal safe place.
# 15 and # 14 you are so right , this is not about winning or loosing , this is about playing with all the options and all the rules that one has at there disposal.
i would love to know if either of got a traffic ticket . weather it was a parking ticket or a moving violation . to get a ticket a law had to be broken , so were do you draw the line . you should look yourselves in the mirror and say to yourselves , you know what , next time either one of you gets a ticket for what ever reason it will be paid and you will not question the ticket weather it was properly written or not , and will not try to get out of paying it.
based on your post , you must seem to know all the fine points of this case and in truth i don’t know all facts of this case . however that still does not change the facts that this is still America the last time i looked , and one has the right to appeal any judges decision all the way up to the united states supreme court. if the camp was as dangerous as you make it seem to be , how come the appeals court allowed them to stay unless they felt there was no danger .
a good schabos to all .
The camp was not compliant since it opened without the certification needed to open it. This in itself is a chillul HaShem.
Some of the inhabitants of the New Square community are the loveliest, warmest, humblest people you can hope to meet; there is unfortunately poor leadership and rampant mismanagement in this community.