Construction Underway on Rockaways YMCA

The thundering of a piledriver broke the morning silence on November 12, as the initial phase of construction on the much-anticipated Rockaways YMCA commenced.

The new 34,000 square-foot YMCA on 2.2 acres at Beach 73^rd Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard will be built as part of the 117-acre Arverne-by-the-Sea community of 2,300 residential units.

The first phase of the building will include the YMCA’s first Family Aquatic Center in the five boroughs, featuring two pools—a four-lane lap pool plus a family pool with a single depth entry, spray and climbing play features and an 18-foot sliding board. The facility will also include all-purpose space for youth and community activities, a large cardiovascular area and two aerobic studios. Outdoor space will include active recreation areas and playfields. A second phase is planned that will enable the YMCA to enclose a gymnasium and expand the all-purpose spaces.

At a ceremony to announce the project in 2006, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, “When it opens, the YMCA will be the heart of neighborhood life, just like the Ys are and have been throughout the city for more than 150 years. Building this Y is something the people of the Rockaways have worked long and hard for. It’s going to make an enormous difference in this community.”

When completed in 2011, the YMCA will provide the only indoor aquatic center available to the community on the Rockaway peninsula. Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Jamaica Bay, introducing children to the water in a safe and welcoming environment, as well as training lifeguards, will be a high priority.

Watch this page for updates on construction and opportunities to tell us what you think about the Rockaways YMCA, and watch our In the News page for updates in the press.

For information about the YMCA’s community-building capital programs for the Rockaways or any of our other projects, please contact Maria del Toro, Sr. Vice President of Fund Development, at 212-630-9600 or mdeltoro@ymcanyc.org.