One year and still growing

By Nancy Kriz MONROE — The South Orange Family YMCA will mark its first year in the Monroe community with a variety of activities for members and their guests on Monday, March 5.

And no one is happier to host a daylong celebratory party than Ira Besdansky, the Y’s chief executive director, because it symbolizes the realization of a vision he had when the building was merely an empty warehouse.

His vision? The Y - or SOFY as it’s also known - has become a community place for families to go to get and remain healthy.

“Seventeen months ago, we were standing in a shell watching construction workers put beams in place,” he said. “Now this place is filled with community. It’s pretty cool, especially when you consider the economy. I just feel the community has embraced the Y, period. We’re a part of the community.”

Since its opening last year, memberships have almost quadrupled from an initial 500 to 1,800. That translates to almost 7,000 adults and children who are Y members, and Besdansky said new people join every day.

The 22,000-square feet facility features two floors of wellness and fitness equipment, a full court gymnasium, a 20 x 25 rock climbing wall, child watch and youth center centers, a spirit/mind/body studio, a cycling studio, a group exercise studio, men’s and women’s locker rooms and a community flex space for outside organizations.

‘Beat the Streets’ On a weekly basis, thousands of people avail themselves of 70 free group exercise programs, including Zumba, kick boxing, Pilates, yoga, step and Y Pump as well as a wide range of wellness programs.

Attendance averages between 100 and 150 kids who take part in SOFY’s “Beat the Streets” Program, designed to give pre-teens and teens ages 10 to 15 “a safe but fun place” to hang out at on Saturday nights and which offers them recreational sports, dancing and art opportunities with their friends. It’s open to both members and non-members.

Other programs include a 10 week pre-school/youth/teen programs featuring basketball, pee wee sports, hip hop and ballet classes, soccer, T-ball, football and art programs, all offered at nominal fees for members with a separate fee schedule allowing non-members to participate.

And for those with financial hardships, the Y now offers financial assistance for families who may not be able to afford to join.

“Anyone who visits this place is just so impressed,” said Besdansky. “I’ve never seen anyone who comes here and walks away with just ‘an okay.’ They say, ‘I can’t believe the energy in this place.’ It’s the families and kids that make this place what it is.”

More space need Even with a year of service to the community, Besdansky knows not everything is perfect. He spoke of the issues - like parking and equipment time limits during peak usage times - that Y staff continues to address to maximize each member’s experience, but remained grateful for members’ support as staff continues to look for ways to improve.

“We want to make sure what we do is more than good,” he added.

Next on the horizon for SOFY is securing additional space.

“We’ve accelerated our thinking about what we need to do to expand SOFY,” said Besdansky. “My goal is by early fall to come up with a plan on how we can acquire additional space and what we need to do in order to do that. We’re having those conversations at the board level. The wheels are in motion.”