Announcement on Y Could Come Soon

By Andrea Appleton
POSTED FEB. 2, 2007

The lavish programming of the  Makor/Steinhardt Center, a branch of the 92nd Street Y devoted primarily to Jewish culture, may soon be coming to Tribeca. The Center is expected to move from the Upper West Side to 200 Hudson Street, at Canal Street. No official announcement had been made at press time, and a lease had yet to be signed according to an agent of the building’s owner, Trinity Real Estate.

A Y spokeswoman would not comment on the move but Community Board 1 is looking forward to seeing the major institution Downtown.

“They’re in the process of bringing a facility down to CB1,” said Noah Pfefferblit, Community Board 1’s district manager. “The Community Board has always been supportive of having them in the neighborhood, and we’re very excited.” A November letter from CB1 to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) supported the allocation of Community and Cultural Enhancement Funds to the Y, whose Makor/Steinhardt Center is now housed within five levels and 22,000 square feet of the Steinhardt Building at 35 West 67th St.

The ground floor space at 200 Hudson St. contains 12,500 square feet.

The Y would not comment on the particulars of the new facility, but if it has even half the amenities of the current Makor/Steinhardt Center, they would be bountiful. The Center is now composed of extensive evening and day programming. In the evening is Makor—the word means “source” in Hebrew—geared to New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s. The other, Daytime@the Steinhardt, is targeted to retirees.

The West 65th Street center includes a music performance space, cafe and bar, reading room and art gallery. Movies, including six monthly film series, are screened five nights a week in a 72-seat screening room. Theatre performances, speed dating and a Super Bowl party are some of this month’s events. Current classes range from Italian Cooking 101 to Origami to a course in the Israeli Special Forces’ mode of self-defense.

This month alone, the Center is also offering dozens of special events including cheese, dark chocolate, and wine tastings. Talks to come include “You Never Call, You Never Write: A History of the Jewish Mother” and “Is There a Peace Process Anymore?”

It is unclear whether the Y would change its programming to cater to  Downtown’s young families. While Makor does offer some kids activities—including chocolate seders and musical performances—the programming is largely geared toward adults.

CB1 member Catherine McVay Hughes drafted the November letter to the LMDC. “Things may have changed,” she said in a recent interview, “but at that time it seemed that the Y’s programming would be primarily for adults because they didn’t want to compete with Manhattan Youth.” Manhattan Youth is the Downtown organization that will run a new community center on Warren Street near West Street.

The Y would fill an important cultural niche, McVay Hughes said. “There’s still no performing arts center. It’s really important that they fill that gap.”

The idea of a branch of the 92nd Street Y moving Downtown was first broached in 2003, when the Y proposed a facility of up to 300,000 square feet. The Y narrowly won Community Board 1 support over the YMCA, in a competition for a Downtown recreational and cultural center that never materialized.

In 2004, the Y was a finalist among cultural institutions vying for space at the World Trade Center site.

If the move happens, it will be some  time before Downtown residents can brush up on their mah-jongg skills or take workshops like “Unleash Your Inner Tycoon.” The last that CB1 heard, the Y planned to open its Downtown doors in September.

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