Name of camp: Camp Gnarly Location: 1540 Van Siclen Ave, Brooklyn How old was your child when they attended camp this summer? 11 Review: This camp was an awful experience from beginning to end. They are disorganized and despite promising details on transportation pickup/drop off times and scheduled activities for the week by the prior Friday, I was still pleading for information the Sunday evening before camp started. On the last day, they switched drivers and routes without notifying patents and showed up an hour later than normal for pickup as if no big deal.They talk a big game about the camp being tailored to and driven by the individual child, but they did not deliver, and were unresponsive to feedback on this. They did not meet their promise on the number of desired electives/selectives my kid was scheduled for. This resulted in most of the week spent on random things a kid might have no interest in at all. The caliber of activities was poor. Many were onsite at the gym they are housed at - eg tomahawk throwing without any real instruction to the campers. Kayaking was in boats tied to the shore. Fishing was at a pond with nary a minnow to be seen and campers were not allowed/taught to cast their own lines. Despite director’s insistence that they do instructional swim two days, my kid received no instruction because she can already swim well. Trips are supposed to be included, but the trip our week was to Coney Island (at no cost to the camp), but with instructions sent after midnight the night before saying that campers could bring $75 if they wanted to go on rides at Luna Park, less if they wanted an individual ride, or play games. The other kids would be limited to the beach. We reluctantly (due to our objection to this arrangement) sent money for a cyclone ride only. My kid asked to go over to the beach afterwards (as we were led to believe was available), but was ignored, and spent the hottest day of the year watching other kids on rides. The icing on the cake was being berated and verbally abused by the van driver when she told him he was driving past her home. He yelled at her that she talks too much, to shut up, and to get out and not get back in. She was traumatized and hysterical over the encounter. What would you change about the program, if anything, and why? I would never have anything to do with this program again Would you like to add anything related to COVID and how the camp handled it? They refused to grant any refunds in 2020 due to Covid and then relocated the camp across Brooklyn (requiring transportation at additional cost) and changed the format to one they were unable to manage well
