Nassau ousts private day camps from county parks

Nassau County officials have already ousted the operators of the two private day camps that have been in county parks, officials said Tuesday.

That word came a day after the Nassau County Legislature passed a bill barring the county from issuing permits for private day camps at any county park.

County officials said they have told the two operators that their permits would not be renewed this year. They are Woodmont Sports, which operates a camp in North Woodmere Park in Wantagh, and Oasis Children's Services, with camps in Nickerson Beach and Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn.

County officials said they could not say how much revenue would be lost, or how many children and families who use the private camps would be affected. They said the day camps that the county plans to open this summer could offset much of the revenue loss.

"Oasis chose to withdraw from Christopher Morley Park and I made the decision not renew the contract for Woodmont," Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said. "The legislation is consistent with my policy of returning parks to the families and children of Nassau County who use them for recreation purposes."

The Woodmont camp said it had made other plans for the summer. "We do have an alternative location for campers who have enrolled, and we will be using the pool and the tennis facilities at the park," camp director Jason S. Goldberg said. He declined to discuss any of the camp's dealings with the county.

Oasis Children's Services did not return telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Former Democratic County Executive Thomas Suozzi began issuing permits for the private day camps shortly after he took office in 2001 to raise revenue, and Republicans at the county and town level have been critical for years of the use of public parks by private operators.

Republican Legis. Peter Schmitt of Massapequa, who sponsored the bill passed Monday, had complained that the permits initially were awarded without competitive bidding and did not benefit county residents.

Aides to Suozzi had defended the permits as routine, and said they operated during the middle of the day on weekdays, when the parks were not heavily used.

Aides to Mangano could not provide any figures Tuesday, but Schmitt had said in 2004 that the camps could take in an estimated $1 million a year while paying the county about $130,000 annually.