The center promptly released a statement rebutting Hatala’s, writing, “We are an inclusive and tolerant organization whose members and staff represent all segments of the regional community, including the LGBTQ community. … Those allegations and statements are completely groundless and not supported by any evidence or facts.”

The 12 Penny Saloon camp’s sign, which Hatala said he put up Tuesday, is immediately adjacent to the JCC Camp Daleville sign. Cardonick said they asked Hatala if they could cover his sign on weekdays to avoid confusion, as the camp entrance is hard to find. They would then uncover the gay campground sign on Fridays for its own camp-goers, Cardonick said, explaining the Jewish camp takes down its own signs at night.

“That was purely the ask,” Cardonick said. “He turned it into these … allegations of discriminatory behavior.”

The camp has 183 youngsters registered to attend this summer, and they get new campers every week for the full eight weeks it’s open, he said.

“They might think they’re at the wrong campground, and that’s all,” Cardonick said.

Hatala said the request to cover the sign was “absolutely” homophobia.

“There’s no mistaking the two signs,” he said. “It’s already a set schedule.”

When asked about previous homophobic remarks involving the center, Hatala declined to go into specifics due to litigation but said, “There were several remarks made.”

Cardonick emphasized that JCC Camp Daleville is inclusive, and the community center has LGBTQ community members, as well as campers with families who are part of the LGBTQ community.

“Where’s the evidence?” Cardonick said. “We deny those allegations.”

Cardonick said the employee, whose full name he did not know, is a state constable hired to do security at the camp due to a rise in anti-Semitism over the past year. The guard responded to investigate after someone reported a person doing something at the entrance of the camp. Cardonick acknowledged the man should not have cursed at Hatala.

“The security guard should be a little more professional than that,” he said. “He didn’t do anything derogatory or discriminatory or homophobic that we saw in the video.

Hatala believes it was to intimidate and harass him as he was putting up the sign.

“I won’t put up with it,” he said.

The Jewish Community Center and Hatala have both sought legal action against each other in recent years, challenging how the other party uses the campground property.

The disputes stem from an agreement in 2005 where Hatala agreed to buy the property for $500,000. According to the agreement, the Jewish Community Center is allowed to continue operating its camp on the land for as long as it wants, paying $1 a year in rent. The center said it first opened the camp in 1965.

Hatala owns the property, but the community center has “exclusive use and possession of the premises for the months of June, July and August each year to run its summer day camp,” according to the document.

The agreement stipulates that Hatala could use the property on weekends in the summer with written permission from the community center, which he said he has for his gay campground.

The most recent legal dispute concluded in May with an order from Lackawanna County Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle. As part of the 2005 agreement, Hatala is permitted to build a single residential building on the land, but the Jewish Community Center has to approve it before construction can begin.

On April 19, the center sought a temporary restraining order, alleging construction of a home had begun but the center did not first receive plans for the building. The lawsuit also alleges that the construction is a month before the day camp with no safety plan, fence or other structure securing the site.

Moyle granted a temporary restraining order two days later halting construction, and as part of her May 14 order, ruled that construction of the residential dwelling had to cease on weekdays from June 7 until Aug. 16.

Hatala announced the opening of the 12 Penny Saloon Gay Campground on Facebook on June 7.

Contact the writer: flesnefsky@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5181; @flesnefskyTT on Twitter.’

This article was originally published on July 15, 2021, on The Times-Tribune.