Following many months of efforts to wring compliance from the camp — Birchos Shomayim of Kasho — at 99 Geiger Road, the Town of Wawarsing has asked attorney Mary Lou Christiana to seek an injunction against the owners of the site, which is listed as a school with the New York State Education Department.

The property is run by an organization derived from the ultra-orthodox Jewish community of Kiryas Kasho in Westchester. They purchased the site some years ago, which had formerly housed the “Four Seasons” camp, a summer home to a Jewish group that were mostly holocaust survivors from central Europe. According to real estate site Property Shark, the 42-acre property has an assessed value of $1,769,000.

Problems between the town and site owners began in 2013, when the new owners sought permission for a “patio.” Bryant Arms, the town building inspector at the time, was quoted by the Shawangunk Journal, saying, “A patio, like sidewalks or similar landscaping, usually did not require a building permit. But the applicant explained that it was their intention to construct the patio according to the specifications for the foundation to the shul. The idea was to have a foundation ready for the shul when that becomes approved.”

Arms continued, “I explained that an unpermitted patio cannot be used as a foundation because I could not be sure that it met proper specifications. So, of course I was invited to inspect the various stages of the patio’s construction to verify that it would be built to certain specifications. I would not agree to do that unless a permit for the patio was obtained. That way my inspections would be official. So on May 31, I approved an application for a permit to construct the patio.”

The patio did indeed become the foundation for a Shul or temple, despite some strong words by town board members and neighbors’ objections to the project at the time.

However, questions persisted and a certificate of occupancy was not given. Things grew murky and two years later Camp Kasho was back in front of the planning board with a plan for a two-story dormitory structure that would reportedly house 28 camp counselors, who would be moved there from their existing quarters.

Neighbors once again complained, telling the planning board that the shul was being used and occupied without a certificate of occupancy. Arms said at the time, "I have very good reason to believe they are using that shul unlawfully and once it is confirmed, and they don't correct the problem immediately, it will jeopardize their current application with the planning board.”

A Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPP) was required for the entire complex, including the shul, dormitory, sidewalks and other structures. Then came the issue of a fence, with the camp's representatives asserting that they'd rather not install one around the site's garbage compactor. The planning board found their reasoning unjustified.

The site has continued to maintain a difficult relationship with both its neighbors and the town. Complaints about traffic from the neighbors, and alleged use of the buildings during winter months when it was listed as a summer camp, were frequently noted. Efforts to obtain compliance with code by the town were either resisted or ignored.

By 2019, these issues were coming to a head. It was reported that a large building on the site was being advertised online as a “hotel” called the Dacha. But no permit for a hotel had ever been granted. Meanwhile the camp had come to the planning board seeking permits to add ten-foot-long extensions to a number of small buildings, reportedly to provide more room for the children occupying them. The applicant claimed that no increase in numbers of children was contemplated.

Planning board members requested that elements of the property, such as the lack of fencing around certain areas and discarded pipes left on the ground, be addressed. The operators appear to have ignored such requests in previous years. Board members expressed considerable impatience with the applicant. And now an injunction against the owners is pending. However, the town has not disclosed the specifics of the injunction.

The Kiryas Kasho community is a Hasidic dynasty that originated in Kosice, a town in eastern Slovakia, about 120 miles southeast of Kraków, Poland, and 160 miles north east of Budapest. The former Rebbe, Refuel Blum, survived the holocaust and came to America. In 1948 he began the work of transferring his Yeshiva to the US from Kosice. At first they collected together in Brooklyn, then moved to a property in Irvington, Westchester. When that burned down in 1977, the group bought the Hillcrest Center for Children in Bedford Hills and established Khal Adas Kasho, a “Torah community”. After the death of Refuel Blum, his son, Eleizer Chaim Blum, became Rebbe. The village in Westchester is known as Kiryas Kasho today.

Wawarsing Town Supervisor Terry Houck, said, “The laws must be the same for everyone. If people won’t comply with permits and rules, then ultimately there will have to be legal action taken against them.”

Christiana, who has a policy of not commenting on the legal matters in any cases she takes on, did say that, considering the delays now baked into the situation by COVID-19 in New York’s courts, the case would not be getting its day in court for quite some time.

Note that, on June 12, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker prohibited overnight children's camps from operating this season in New York State. However, the above lawsuit does not appear to be connected with that decision.