By Julie Shapiro
After a recent tour of the construction of Manhattan Youth’s new community center, several parents thought the organization should change its name. After all, the community center, opening in April, will host programs catering to everyone from young singles to seniors — not just the under-18 set.
Perhaps “Manhattan Youthful,” would be more appropriate, Jim Hopkins, director of Manhattan Youth’s financial campaign, suggested.
And while Bob Townley, the group’s executive director, is not about to change his organization’s name, he wants people to know that this community center is not just for children. With digital photography classes, visiting gourmet chefs, backpacking clubs and tutoring, Townley hopes the center will have something for everyone.
The 28,000-square-foot community center, directed by Alex Roche, will open April 10 with a gala celebration. The Warren St. building also houses the P.S. 234 school annex, which opened in September.
For now, the four-level center looks very much like the construction site that it is, though features of its future appearance are beginning to take shape.
Beneath a skylight, a wooden platform covers what will soon be the pool. A foosball table, coated in dust, sits in a corner of the multi-purpose “Great Hall.” Naked light bulbs illuminate ladders, stacks of sheetrock, pipes, wheelbarrows and fluffy yellow insulation.
“What a mess,” Townley said cheerfully as he led local parents and community leaders through the center.
He pointed out places that will become music practice rooms, art studios complete with kilns, a black box theater, a teen lounge, and a karate and dance studio.
“We prioritized this center based on what we do not have room for in the schools,” Townley said, indicating the multimedia lab where kids will make their own movies and the full kitchen where students can take cooking classes.
The centerpiece will be a 75-foot, competition-length pool, ranging in depth from 3 to 6 feet. Townley hopes the pool will host the center’s own swim team, along with free daily swims for seniors, teens and parents with toddlers.
There will be no all-inclusive, yearly membership fee, but more of a pay-as-you-go system for adult events. For children and teens, programs will have little or no cost, perhaps requiring that parents donate several hours of their time. The goal, Townley said, is family involvement.
When the center first opens, Townley’s top priorities are to engage teens and seniors.
“Teens are busting out,” Townley said. “There’s nothing for them to do.”
He cited an increase in local teenage suicides as his motivation to serve teens, and added that he hopes to hire a social worker to provide counseling.
Many of Townley’s plans require additional funding. Manhattan Youth raised the $10 million needed to build the facility, but now needs an additional $2 million to “bring it up to where we’d like it to be,” Hopkins said. That includes furnishings, appliances and computer wiring, along with funds to start hiring personnel for the programs.
At the end of the tour, Townley ushered the parents into a large room with floor-to-ceiling windows that he intends to furnish in a homey “Harry Potter” style and use for tutoring.
“It’s not the biggest community center in the world,” Townley started to say.
But Paul Hovitz, chairperson of C.B. 1’s Youth and Education Committee, stopped him, saying, “It’s the best one we’re going to have.”
Around a dusty conference table, parents asked questions, gave suggestions and helped Townley and Hopkins plan the upcoming capital campaign.
“It will be what we make it,” Hovitz said later as the group filed back through the construction-strewn halls. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Julie@DowntownExpress.com
