It’s fun to stay at the YMCA! And the YMCA is here to stay in Rockaway. On Thursday, May 29, there will be a 10-year anniversary celebration to commemorate more than a decade of the community center, aquatic facility, and gym serving the peninsula.
On May 29 at 6 p.m., at a ticketed event, all are welcome to join for an evening of music, food, drinks, and honoring some of the Rockaway YMCA’s biggest supporters, including Borough President Donovan Richards, Tampa Bay Buccaneer Christian Izien, his mother, Michelle Matthews, and others, while supporting the facility through fundraising.
For more than 10 years, the Rockaway YMCA has been serving the peninsula with a fitness center, indoor pool, basketball court, outdoor field, and various classes and activities for kids, teens, and adults, plus as a space for community meetings and events.
The idea for the Rockaway YMCA, or something like it, goes back to 2001when Benjamin Development Company and the Beechwood Organization were selected to develop the community of Arverne by the Sea. “Initially in 2001, that location on Beach 73rd Street was identified as a 20,000 square foot community center, and as that plan developed, the development team, in conjunction with the City and the YMCA, identified the YMCA as appropriate for the facility. Then, the original 20,000 square foot plan evolved into a very nice 45,000 square foot YMCA with two pools and a gymnasium,” Arverne by the Sea (ABTS) General Counsel and Senior Project Executive Gerry Romski said.
Funding and design discussions led to some delays of the development of the Rockaway YMCA, and then Hurricane Sandy came into play. “We ran into Superstorm Sandy while the project was about 25% complete,” Romski said. But they powered through. “Obviously we worked through those challenges and completed the Y and opened it more than 10 years ago,” Romski said. The Rockaway YMCA opened its doors to members in February 2014, joining the Sands, Ocean Breeze condos, Palmers Landing, Breakers and a portion of the Dunes neighborhoods, plus the Stop and Shop and retail transit plaza, all part of the ABTS development. “It was really a successful public-private partnership between the development team, the YMCA and the City of New York to bring this facility to the entire Rockaway community,” Romski said. “And it was a good thing in the wake of Superstorm Sandy to see the Y open up. I think it really had enhanced living in the Rockaways.”
Now more than 10 years later, the Y is hosting a celebration of that anniversary, albeit a little late. In March 2024, Areial Mathis stepped in as executive director of the Rockaway YMCA, bringing with her 24 years of experience with the organization, working her way up through facilities in Jamaica, Bed Stuy, opening a new facility in Coney Island, and then on to Flatbush before coming to Rockaway. But as she arrived, she realized the facility had missed the 10-year anniversary. However, the Rockaway YMCA had also missed about a year of operations due to gyms being shut down during Covid. But a decade of serving the community is still worth celebrating. “When I realized, I said we have to do something for our 10 years. It’s a big milestone!” Mathis said.
So, planning began. And next Thursday, it’s time to celebrate! “Next Thursday, we’re going to celebrate our impact in the community and what we’ve been doing over the last 10 years,” Mathis said. “We’re going to have music, food, dancing. It’ll be nice. Plus, we’ll have a couple surprises.” The event will also be an opportunity to fundraise for the nonprofit organization, and to honor those who have shown a lot of support over the years. “We’re honoring Borough President Donovan Richards because even before he was borough president, he was working for years to make sure the YMCA opened, and we have to celebrate all of the love and appreciation he’s shown us over the years.”
“We’re also honoring Christian Izien of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his mother, Michelle Matthews. They helped us with our turkey giveaway in November and instead of just donating 100 turkeys, they wound up donating all of the food and trimmings for free. They loved that so much that around the holidays, they gave 100 of our after-school program youth holiday presents. So, they’ve been amazing partners and live in our community. They started a nonprofit and are looking to do more work with us in the future, so we want to celebrate them as well,” Mathis explained.
The Rockaway YMCA will also be celebrating all they’ve accomplished over ten years. “In every community the YMCA is in, we’re making sure to provide access to after school programs for youth in our community and family programming. We’re not just doing paid programming, we’re doing more community outreach, and we started a second-grade swim program with P.S. 183 and P.S. 197. Being next to the beach and with drowning being an ongoing problem, we’re making sure our second graders become familiar with the water,” Mathis said. “We have kids who are getting scholarships through our programming, we’ve served over 500 summer campers, and we’ve served more than 13,000 people since opening our doors. We even have around 20 kids going to City Hall on May 30 to present a bill for our mock government program, about bringing more healthcare access to the community. We’re all about promoting health and wellness for the mind, body and spirit and it feels great to celebrate 10 years.”
Going forward, Mathis says she wants to do even more with the Rockaway YMCA. “We want to make sure we’re part of everything happening in the community. Like right now we’re working with Queens Caribbean Carnival and we’re going to have an event in our backyard in August, we’re going to do another food pantry with another partner organization, and more. We want to make sure that whatever it is we’re doing, we are here for everyone in the community for years to come,” Mathis said.
But for now, Thursday is all about celebrating what has been. “Given its location, which is really in the center of Rockaway, the YMCA has become a gathering place, as well as a community center, aquatic center and gym,” Romski said. “It’s great to see the Y celebrate 10 years. Twenty years has flown by since we started this ABTS project in 2001, so it’s been a long journey but certainly has lived up to the promises we made in 2001.”
So come out and have some fun at the YMCA. “We’re gonna have a great time and we’re going to celebrate our heroes,” Mathis said.
Tickets for the 10 Year Anniversary celebration at the Rockaway YMCA (207 Beach 73rd Street) start at $50 per individual or $90 per couple and go up from there for those who want to contribute more to help the Rockaway YMCA to continue to be successful. For tickets, see: give.ymcanyc.org/RockawayYMCA10