Welcome to the Chinatown YMCA! We're located in the vibrant neighborhood North of Chinatown in lower Manhattan, close to the East Village, Lower East Side, and Little Italy. We offer state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a pool, programs for kids and families, immigrant services, and a community committed to helping you achieve your goals.

The Chinatown YMCA is an anchor in the downtown community offering programs serving children, teens and adults in four locations:

  • Houston Street Center
    273 Bowery  |  212-912-2460
    Home of our 45,000 square foot state-of-the-art fitness facility which includes a swimming pool, aerobics room and gymnasium.
     
  • Hester Street Center at M.S. 131
    100 Hester Street  |  212-219-8393
    Home of our  NYC DYCD funded Beacon Program, Family Support Program, and New Americans Welcome Center
     
  • Cornerstone Program at Two Bridges Community Center 
    286 South Street   212-385-9352
    Home of our after school, teen, and adult programs at Two Bridges NYCHA Housing Development. Funded by NYC DYCD
     
  • COMPASS Program at PS 126 
    80 Catherine Street  |  917-275-4172
    Home of our elementary after school program. Funded by NYC DYCD

Staff

Michael Keller
Executive Director

Chi Yung
Director of Fund Development, Communications, Youth & Family

Miguel Garcia
Aquatics Director

Tony Kung
Healthy Lifestyles Director

Amanda Lee
Teen Director

Taiwan Branch
Building Coordinator

History

The Y has been an integral part of Chinatown and the Lower East Side since the 1970's. For more than four decades, the facility at 100 Hester Street has continuously served these dynamic communities with a rich variety of programs for people of all ages.

In 1993, the Chinatown YMCA received one of the first grants from the New York City Department of Youth Services to create a "Beacon" center, which currently operates at MS 131 in collaboration with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. Beacons are public elementary and intermediate schools that double as community-based organizations after school hours and on the weekends to provide children and adults with a safe and fun environment. Today, there are currently 80 Beacons located throughout New York City. The Beacon Center at MS 131 provides community access to a wide variety of school-based educational, recreational and counseling services and creates a safe haven and nurturing environment for neighborhood youth and adults in lower Manhattan, with an emphasis for the Chinatown and Lower East Side communities.

More recently, the Y responded to an increasing demand in both Chinatown and the Lower East Side for increased healthy lifestyles programming, and launched its new Houston Street Center, located on the Bowery, in 2006. Since it opened, the center has quickly become a neighborhood "hot spot," with state-of-the-art recreational and educational facilities. From swimming and fitness programs to after-school and older adult programs and community events, the Houston Street Center has become a new hub in one of New York's most historic and diverse neighborhoods.