You may have heard or read that the Downtown Albany YMCA on Washington Avenue is in danger of being closed by the Capital District YMCA board. A neighborhood-based coalition is organizing to save this vital community resource. There will be acommunity meeting Tuesday, Jan. 5th at 6:00pm in the big room at the Main Library on Washington Avenue. Parking in the rear off Elk Street. Please attend and make it clear we are committed to preventing the closing of our YMCA. The more support demonstrated with presence and voices at this meeting, the bigger and clearer message it will send!
The coalition is calling for a task force of stakeholders to study the issues that have lead to this decision and come up with a plan to keep the Downtown Y open.
Here are some other ways you can help: Go to the Save the Albany YMCA Facebook page. While there, you can join the more than 400 people who have already signed on, read the comments and get updates. You can also find a link to an on-line petition to show your support to the Y management, and you can contact us to get copies of a paper petition that you can circulate in your place of worship or neighborhood. You can also find contacts to volunteer for any of the many tasks that organizing requires.
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I am a very concerned grandparent that has been paying membership fees for the last four years for my grandson, who "loves" playing basketball, and also loves having a safehaven to go and socialize with his peers! The fees are basically minimal and I wouldn't mind paying a few extra dollars to keep my grandson and his peers in a safe place and OFF THE STREETS!!! If these kids, especially the young boys, don't have a place like the YMCA to go to, we might as well give half of them one of those guns that the good Reverand has been collecting and send them out to the streets because that's exactly what is going to happen to a great number of these kids who are trying to do the right thing. Without the Y, the only other place in uptown/Arbor Hill area that hasn't closed would be the Delaware Street Boys & Girls club and in the cold weather, not to mention on school nights, our kids can't being going that far! Plus with the uptown/downtown gang situation that exist, I'm not too sure that would be too safe anyway!
With myself being forced to take on a second job, I can not attend the meeting unfortunately, but I still would like my voice to be heard. The kids were so sad when they were telling me about this move and it's a shame that when we have kids that "WANT" to do the right thing, they might not have a place to do the right thing soon! I'm outraged! They toss millions into the Times Union Arena and the Lark Strret Association, and so many other activities aimed at the so-called Big Wigs, also things like the LarkFest and Alive @ Five,and the Downtown Revitalization, not to mention Stimulus Money that Obama gave to our area, and the City of Albany & NYS can't offer some type of grant to the YMCA that has been in existence for so many years! It's appalling! Just downright sickening! Well I am only one person, but it has to start somewhere and if a few more like me are willing to do whatever it takes to help these kids, we could go a long way. Aren't you tired of them putting our kids in harms way and then just locking them up for as long as they can? If so, let's stand up and help to do what is right for our kids! If we don't do something, who will?
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