This fall, Rockaway will just keep swimming – and so much more – at the refreshed Rockaway YMCA (207 Beach 73rd St). Complementing their two indoor pools, open year-round, the facility recently updated their strength training equipment, gave their front desk a makeover, and increased their group exercise classes from 24 a week to 52 and counting.
Executive Director Areial Mathis (amathis@ymcanyc.org) says they’re just getting started. “We’ve been increasing the amount of youth programming we’re offering…we’ve increased the amount of swim lessons we’ve been offering,” Mathis said. “We’re giving free swim lessons to schools in our community…We’re constantly making sure that we’re evolving and providing more and more services to the Rockaway community.”
Open since 2014, the YMCA is “not just a gym,” Mathis said. “We’re a community center. We’re a hub for the community.” Upcoming events include their annual Halloween party, as well as serving as a poll site for the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3.
“Last year, we had about a thousand people here for our Halloween event,” Mathis said. “[This year], it’s actually going to be on Halloween, October 31, from 12 to 3 p.m. I have the best community partners in the world, so once again, I’m partnering with them, and we’re going to have a huge event just for the families and the Rockaways.”
Visitors can expect a festive trunk-or-treat gathering in the Y’s back yard, as well as a haunted house, a pumpkin patch, bounce houses, cotton candy, and popcorn.
“Kids can actually trick or treat here,” Mathis said. “We’re going to give them bags to trick or treat – and candy! We’ll have games; we’ll have costume contests; we’ll have dance contests. It will be a whole thing.”
The event is a fitting showcase for the facility’s recent and ongoing upgrades, beginning with the centerpiece front desk. On a visit this week, a long-time member paused to comment that welcome greetings, painted above the desk in many languages, reflected the Rockaway YMCA community.
“We work with everyone, literally everybody,” Mathis said. “It’s a nice, safe place for everybody.”
Other upgrades include the strength training equipment, which will also serve as a precursor to new cardio equipment, expected in the near future.
“I feel like everything needed a little…a little zhuzh, you know: an update,” Mathis said. “So it’s been my mission to…you know, put a little makeup on her. Jazz her up a bit.”
Mathis recently celebrated her 25th anniversary of working with the YMCA, a tenure that began in Jamaica, then took her to Bed-Stuy, Coney Island, back to Bed-Stuy during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Flatbush before arriving in Rockaway a few years ago.
“We’ve been open [in Rockaway] since February of 2014, so it was nice to do a refresh,” Mathis said of the recent and ongoing updates. And she’s quick to credit her many local partners for their assistance in keeping the YMCA a centerpiece of the community.
“Our electeds, like Selvena [N. Brooks-Powers] and Khaleel [M. Anderson], have been very helpful in partnering with us,” Mathis said.
Mathis also acknowledged her own history with the YMCA. “I even learned to swim at the Y as a child. And then again, as an adult, because if you don’t use it, you lose it!” She recalled a dangerous riptide that nearly swept her out to sea as a youngster and said, “I feel like it [the Y] saved my life.” That experience led her and her team to expand their current swim lessons to a variety of age groups, available year-round.
“We do a whole safety component during the lesson, so they understand,” Mathis said. “I’m very passionate about making sure that our kids get this much-needed program.”
That commitment to Rockaway’s younger population extends beyond swim lessons.
“We offer teen recreational time, to make sure that our kids have something productive to do,” Mathis said. “We have Child Watch, so we can make sure that we don’t remove that barrier for parents where you’re trying to find daycare.” With Child Watch, parents can drop children off for two hours, free of charge, “so you can actually just have a moment to yourself.” Activities offered for children during Child Watch include coloring, story time, and a dedicated playroom.
Thoughtful educational and ongoing learning programs are also available for adults. “If you’re new to working out, and you’re just not comfortable yet in the fitness center by yourself, [Fitness Center Essentials] is free,” Mathis said. “We give you a whole program – four weeks – and show you what to do when you’re in there, so you can feel comfortable when you’re on your own.”
Additional upgrades to the space are also in the works, including HVAC updates, “because we’re right by the sea, so it does take a toll,” Mathis said.
Future work on the space may eventually grow the current facility: “I would love to have an expansion of the existing site,” Mathis said. “We’re right in the middle for everybody…I just would love to expand,” in support of their many programs. “We actually, literally, have every ZIP code represented on the peninsula [among our members], even into Broad Channel and Howard Beach. We have some people in Marine Park…Long Island, as well. We’re here for everybody. We have every nationality represented, every age group represented.”
The Rockaway YMCA also offers support to prospective members who may need it financially in order to join the community.
“We offer financial assistance…we never want price to be the barrier,” Mathis said. “We raise money, literally: that’s my job. I raise money, and me and my team and my board, we raise money…so that everybody has access.” The facility has offered as much as 50% off membership to those who need it, “and we do it for all of our programs, membership, everything,” Mathis added.
Upcoming highlights, in addition to Halloween and Election Day, include a Rockaway Y member joining the New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 2. Runner Tye Jordan is raising funds for the Y and the 400,000 young people and families who rely on the Y’s free community programs across New York City. Fans and friends are invited to contribute to his run; details can be found on the Rockaway YMCA’s Instagram page @rockawayymca.
Additional information about events, programming, and membership is available directly from the Y; visit www.ymcanyc.org or stop by at 207 Beach 73rd St.
