With camps in limbo if they will be allowed to open, NY Governor Cuimo says a decision on whether sleep away camps can open this summer in New York is yet to be made. In an interview this morning, Cuomo told Long Island News Radio that the issue is the inflammatory illness believed to be related to the cronavirus that has been affecting children, and concerns over spreading it.
Cuomo reiterated that as the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths decline, summer day camps can start to open at the end of the month. He said no decision has been made on sleepaway camps.
So, he added, “Summer day camps are going to open on June 29. We’re still reviewing the situation with sleepaway camps.”
“I’m making that decision like it’s my own daughter. Today, if you asked me I would send my daughter to sleep away camp, I would not, Cuomo said.”
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The state has yet to release its safety guidelines for summer camps, but they have been preparing a series of steps to keep the children and staff safe.
Those are likely to include a limited number of campers, attempts at social distancing, the wearing of masks when need be and stronger sanitary measures.
Camps said they were awaiting state guidance on their next steps. They have stressed that as businesses reopen, workers need places for their children this summer.
“Camp is essential for childcare in NY during the summer months as well as beneficial for children’s mental well-being, and we are thrilled that (Cuomo) has recognized the importance of these small businesses,” the New York State Camp Directors Association said.
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11 Responses
FACE IT EVERYONE-IT’S A NO.
No rush, we can wait till September for the Sfachim jr. to decide!
perfectly undestandable. he’s holding onto the reins, so he can go on with his daily press conferences. once he lets go he becomes irrelevant. there’s really no real reason to keep the state cloded regardless of what he’s telling us. I
It’s a class thing. The upper class sends their kids to overnight camp. Why allow them something that the lower class does not have?! it’s not equitable or fair. This has NOTHING to do with the virus. Has there been any new cases of this inflammatory illness in the past week?!
Truth be told it would be amazing that if all sleepaway camps are shut!
The average person has no money for this
It is such a crushing expense that modt parents cannot adequately function starting January of every year .
Most parents do not have enough money for 5 kids tuition let alone a minimum of $20,000 for the summer.
The camps are there for a few to profit off
NOTHING WRONG however no one makes money of it except for the director!!
All other families stay there “room and board” eating freezer food and living in squalid conditions, all because they NEED to get out of Brooklyn ! Sometimes 1,000 – 4,000 is given to them compared to hundreds of thousand thst directors make. There is nothing wrong but dont give me this garbage of “essential” you want to help families SHUT all the camps so parents do not suffer and really hate the kids for it. Visiting day is there only so the owner does not have to pay the Staff and they get tips.
I can write a million things that are so destructive about camp i.e. learning, atmosphere , relying in every single kula etc.. i kno people will start writing how it helps kids etc.. but i see the issues every year do you know what it means to parents? A crushing force that they cannot keep up with which in turn ruins soo many households way way more than they actually help! There are gemachs out there that help parents pay for camp!! Is that normal thst they are reduced to shnorrers for this????
If yeshivaworld actually prints this i am awaiting backlash however untill you deal with all the fallout(which i do) think twice before posting
Many many parents wish it does not open
Cancelling camp for the summer can have a deleterious effect on our children’s mental well-being and that of their parents. It can even affect next year’s academic school year if the children feel gypped out of their vacation. (Besides that, many Yidden rely on the summer camp season for a chunk of their Parnassah.) So far, the regular avenues of Shtadlanus have not worked and Governor Cuomo keeps hinting that it doesn’t look like the camps will open.
Suggestion: Have parents and schools encourage the children to write creative letters to the Governor on what camp means to them. Hundreds of large, colorful and eye-catching letters on any medium (how about on swimming suits or oak-tag) should catch their attention.
This will also give kids a creative way of filling their spare time.
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
I could not agree more with coronavirus2020 camps have been running the narrative for way too long.Bh in EY the UK and many other wonderful kehilos in klal yisroel it’s been proven that children BH can grow beautifully without it.
I have watched the passed few weeks my children go out to play everyday with the neighbors from morning till night the only reason why they need to go to camp is because we have been programmed here in America to think that they need it. If their friends would stay they would have no problem staying and dear I say be happy saving us alot of money that I believe would be better served for a quality family vacation
To glattekop: not america but NYC was programmed like you said wonderful kehilos in america are doing just fine with one month off. i cannot give away who i am but i happen to be involved in camp EVER summer , (in a capacity that i cannot reveal for obvious reasons but rest assured it is not a money maker) this one too,if allowed to open and i deal with family issues all day, during the year.
Trust me when i tell you its the biggest brocho for klal yisroel to have camps shut. Very very few people walk away with real money
Some food vendors too, but alot of it means that excess canteen, which robs parents of tons of money , wont go on .
Big deal if you stood by canteens and saw what went on you would be outraged !
And nebach on the kids watching it that cannot afford it nebach . I myself paid for some kids whose eyes were bulging nebach.
Guess who profits from canteen? Its the owners of camp !a successful Canteen rakes in 20,000 a summer and some camps more ! All on the backs of parents!
I can write a book about The perils of camp ,which by the way some rabbonim asked me to but i cannot as of yet. Of course some things are positive however the negatives far far outweigh the positive! Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Not everything in life is getting your son or daughter “refreshed”
I do agree with coronovirus2020 that costs are crazy, but it’s also for EVERYTHING we yidden do these days!!! For the average family, debt or Gemachs!! What a way to live and so not the point of why we came down here in the first place, to serve Hashem… we have been so sidetracked with all the Gashmius… we need to start thinking about what REALLY is important and that is OUR avodas Hashem. This is not how it’s supposed to be.
“I’m making that decision like it’s my own daughter. Today, if you asked me I would send my daughter to sleep away camp, I would not, Cuomo said.”
I’m sorry. This is so wrong. Cuomo admits that it’s risk vs. rewards except that he gets to decide. If he were to say that the medical experts oppose it, that’s one thing. But to base the entire NYS on a personal choice that he’d make for his own daughter is an enormous act of hubris.
As a kid (now married-with-my-own-kids adult) who went to sleepaway camp I completely disagree with the negative commentators’ perspectives. I was one of the kids who didn’t have a strong social standing in my class hierarchy and couldn’t realize my latent potential, but had the chance to discover my kochos and blossom in the completely different surroundings of sleepaway camp. Today I’m involved in chinuch in a Torah community, with a Torahdik mishpacha, and I attribute much of that to the opportunities sleepaway camp afforded me. Yes, the tuition costs are high. Yes, there may be others who didn’t have the same positive experience as I did. (And as an aside- there are kids who get exposed to foreign ideas in yeshiva from friends too. And other types of horror stories such as abuse can happen in non-camp settings too. But just as the news only reports on the negative stories, similarly we tend to only hear of the tragic events associated with sleepaway camp. The 99.9% of kids who go and never experience these atrocities, and have the time of their lives in a safe, Torahdik, away-from-the-environment are not discussed…) However, for so many kids like I myself was, sleepaway camp is a true life changer. (And no, I do not own, nor am I involved with sleepaway camps at this point.)