SPRING GLEN – Members of a girls' camp occupying the former Homowack Lodge appear to have defied an order to evacuate the decrepit resort. The order, which was issued by the office of NY State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, gave the residents until noon on Monday, July 27, to evacuate the premises. But, as of late that afternoon, there was no indication that the residents were in the process of complying with the order.

The NY State Department of Health (DOH) and the town of Mamakating had previously issued a request that the property be evacuated, citing numerous health and safety concerns. These concerns include, among others, a lack of fire-suppression equipment, leaking roofs, exposed electrical wiring, and black mold. The resort had fallen under the scrutiny of the town building department, which had been in the process of cataloguing the numerous violations on the property. An oil leak on the site several weeks ago raised the level of scrutiny the property has been receiving, bringing in officials from the DOH and the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

DOH spokesman Juan F. Merino issued a press release late Monday afternoon stating: "The Department's top priority remains the safety and the well-being of the residents at the former Homowack Lodge. The Department was onsite today and is working to ensure compliance with the commissioner's evacuation order. We take these types of situations on a case by case basis, it's an ongoing process." It was unclear, however, whether or not state officials were actually on site on Monday afternoon, as there were no state vehicles parked in front of the resort.

The next step, according to a previous press release, would be to have the DOH Bureau of Legal Affairs issue a formal referral to NY State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office. The press release stated: "The [attorney general] represents the state and DOH when we have to go to court . . . if the camp ignores the [commissioner's] order, in order to get any immediate action, we would have to go to court and the [attorney general's] services would be requested."