NY Federal Judge Denies Permission For Sleepaway Camps To Operate

In a disappointing development on Monday, a federal judge ruled to  deny New York sleepaway camps permission to operate this summer.

The story began on June 12, when New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his decision to shut down all sleepaway camps this summer due to COVID-19.

Cuomo then reiterated his decision on June 13. “Summer camps we have studied with a great deal of diligence because it involves children,” Cuomo said at a press conference. “Sleepaway camps have a much higher level of risk than day camps.”

Jewish community leaders were quick to criticize the decision, citing the importance of summer camps for the childrens’ wellbeing. Others also pointed out the apparent haziness surrounding the exact difference of risk between day camps, which the state is allowing, and sleepway camps.

The Association of Jewish Camp Operators eventually brought a federal lawsuit to challenge Cuomo’s decision, and then followed up by filing for a temporary restraining order on the Governor’s actions.

However, today the judge ruled in favor of the Governor’s position, upholding the ban on New York sleepaway camps from opening this summer.

Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, Agudah’s New York Government Relations Director, said, “The impact on children is devastating. Instead of looking forward to a summer of growth, filled with learning experiences and preparation for an upcoming school year, many children of our community will now be forced to endure a continuation of the long-lasting lockdowns imposed by the State Government.”

“The unhappy news arrived late yesterday afternoon that a federal judge had denied a motion to prohibit Governor Andrew Cuomo from closing down overnight camps across New York State, thereby putting the proverbial nail in the coffin on this summer’s overnight camping season in New York, “ said Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel, the Executive Vice President of Agudath Israel of America.

He added: “While it is true that some of the overnight camps have relocated to other states, and that some others have recreated themselves as day camps, the bottom line remains that hundreds- if not thousands -of children whose parents were counting on having them spend the next weeks in overnight camp now face the prospect of having no structured program for the hot summer months ahead. To these families, yesterday’s court ruling is an absolutely crushing blow.”

    (VIN)