GNYC to Sell Pouch Camp While Selling Out Boy Scouts.

Pouch Camp's Lake Orbach - Image via savepouch.com

William H. Pouch Scout Camp, or more commonly referred to as "Pouch Camp" is a 120 acre camp located in Staten Island. This massive property, featuring the 20 acre Orbach Lake is located in the heart of Staten Island's Greenbelt and is owned by the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The property was previously owned by Ernest Flagg, the famed architect of Manhattan's once tallest building, the Singer Building and the US Navy Academy in Annapolis Maryland. The camp is named after William H. Pouch a prominent businessman and winner of the Silver Buffalo, one of scouting's highest awards. The first portions of the camp were secured from the estate of Ernest Flagg in 1949.


View Pouch Camp in a larger map


This Boy Scout Camp is packed with facilities such as multiple cabins, 55 leantos, 20 tent sites, a Camp-O-Ree field, Picnic Groves, an amphitheater, Trading Post, a Lodge, a Chapel and a lake. The camp is utilized for small groups of campers such as Patrol Camp outs, Cub Scout camping and larger events such as the annual Camp-O-Ree or the Klondike Derby. Pouch Camp remains New York City's only Boy Scout Camp. The Greater New York Council or "GNYC" operates two other scout camps, Alpine Scout Camp in New Jersey and Ten Mile River in Upstate New York.

Tragically, GNYC is currently facing financial difficulties, due to "steep declines in corporate and community funding amid rising operational and outreach costs." Therefore the Council is once again exploring the possibility of selling William H. Pouch Camp. According to GNYC "The Council serves a diverse population of children throughout the five boroughs, providing substantial financial assistance to low-income families to ensure that no child is turned away from a quality program and camping opportunities." Providing "substantial financial assistance to low income families" seems to be particularly misguided in my opinion. Sending children away to Scouting Camps costs money and going away to Summer Camp is privilege for families that can afford it, not a right for every child. Selling Pouch camp in order to finance camping for the poor creates one small problem. No one, whether rich or poor can go camping without a campground to camp in.

In order to continue to subsidize low income families, GYNC has most likely enacted a program of differed maintenance on many of it's camping facilities as well as poor financial planning. In order to increase its coffers, GYNC is attempting to leverage its limited assets. The Council has taken cost-saving steps, including reducing office space by 60%, cutting paid staff by 40% and slashing its overall budget from $15 million to $10 million and should be commended for these actions. However these savings still appear to not be adequate in order to right the Council's financial ship.


WIlliam H. Pouch Camp Map - Image Via Tenmile RIver Archives

Alpine Scout Camp in New Jersey is a deed restricted property, in which if it is not operated as a Scout Camp, it must be returned to the State. This leaves only Ten Mile River and Pouch Camp as the two assets that can be "leveraged" meaning sold or developed. Ten Mile River is a large vast property of 12,000 acres, encompassing multiple individual scout camps. The camping facilities within it have shrunk over the years with many individual camps closing. However this camp facility houses summer camps and largely can not be touched.

This leaves wonderful Pouch Camp, where mostly short term camping takes place on the auction block. Currently the Council is trying to get New York City to secure a Conservation Easement on the Camp, which would permanently keep the property as open space. The Council is seeking approximately $30 million dollars for this easement which is roughly 1/2 the $60 million dollar value of Pouch Camp. This easement would allow GNYC to continue to operate the camp. If the funds for an easement are not secured, the Greater New York Council will likely sell some or all of the property to private land developers. The council has already selected Jones Land Lasalle to market or sell the property.

The property is currently zoned as a fairly restrictive R1-1, meaning only large single family detached houses could be built on its acreage. However, the development of this property as homes would result in increased development on the already overdeveloped, and underserved by public transportation borough of Staten Island. The threat to outright sell the land to home developers amounts to an attempt to extort $30 million dollars from the government in my opinion and is shameful at best.

Who looses in this situation surely almost everyone. New York City Scouts could loose there only camp. Nature lovers will loose a beautiful and scenic piece of land, rich with wildlife in the heart of Staten Island's Greenbelt. Staten Islanders will once again be continued to be overdeveloped with it's streets ever increasingly full of cars. The City of New York and taxpayers will be out of another $30 million dollars. The only winners are the Scouting Executives and land developers, whose bank accounts will be flush with cash. What is the purpose of the massive Scout Council bureaucracy other than to provide the best camping facilities for Scouts? The Council's actions are shameful and an embarrassment to Scouters.

I am an Eagle Scout and have camped in all of GNYC's camps on numerous times. I joined the Order of the Arrow at Pouch Camp and I can personally attest to the scenic beauty of Pouch Camp and the serenity that can be gained by spending a weekend in it's grounds. As a Scouter who grew up in Staten Island I understand how much this camp means to New York City residents and Staten Islanders in Particular. It is our home camp and our only camp. Whether the GNYC shamefully accepts a $30 million dollar bailout from the City or sells the land to developers, all City Scouts will loose. The Greater New York Council is selling Pouch Camp and in the process it has sold its campers out.