New York City’s 92nd Street Y at 150

At Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y, you’ll find people doing exactly what you’d expect from a community center: swimming, playing basketball, creating. But did you know that Groucho Marx used the gym here and that Martha Graham taught dance here?

As Executive Director Seth Pinsky tells it, the organization’s remarkable history grew out of a simple mission: “The 92nd Street Y was founded 150 years ago by a group of German Jewish civic leaders who saw large numbers of Eastern European Jews coming to the United States and felt that this population needed a home, a safe place. And they said, ‘Let’s create a Jewish version of the YMCA.'”

Everyone is welcome at 92NY. The historic Kaufmann Concert Hall is a symbol of this welcoming spirit. Truman Capote first read “In Cold Blood” here, and Kurt Vonnegut premiered “Breakfast of Champions.” When Emma Lazarus wrote the words that gave voice to the Statue of Liberty (“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”), she was teaching English to Jewish immigrants at the 92nd Street Y.

The stage has hosted Holocaust survivors (Elie Wiesel), musicians (Rod Stewart), Supreme Court justices (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), scientists (Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson) and politicians (Hillary and Bill Clinton), not to mention some of the biggest names in film, television, theater and comedy.

In 1960, choreographer Alvin Ailey premiered “Revelations,” now one of his best-known works, on this stage. Salie asked, “Why do you think someone like Alvin Ailey was so well received here at the 92nd Street Y when he wasn’t anywhere else?”

“Jews have a long history of exclusion,” Pinsky said. “And as a result of that, it’s a very important value for us not to exclude others for the same reason.”

Last fall, shortly after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, 92NY came under fire for deciding to postpone an event featuring an author who had publicly criticized Israel. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nhuyen says he was notified of the cancellation at the last minute, before some organizers moved the event to a local bookstore not affiliated with 92NY.

But while changing times present new challenges, Pinsky said they are still guided by one of their founding values, “tikkun olam.”

“Tikkun olam is a Hebrew phrase that means to repair the world,” Pinsky said. “And that’s a very important part of what we do. We’re trying to enrich people’s lives. We’re trying to build community.”

92NY’s programming ranges from ceramics to parenting to art history, plus a daycare center, performances, and the popular 92NY Talks series.

Eighty-two-year-old Lincoln Field has been taking guitar lessons from Ed MacEachen for decades; a few floors down, Joanne Krantz is busy adorning herself with jewelry at the famed Jewelry Center; and Peter Stokes started playing basketball here nearly 50 years ago and has never stopped coming, for exercise and camaraderie. “It’s also a great gathering place to meet people,” he said. “Since I started playing basketball, I have friends for life.”

A century and a half ago, the founders of the 92nd Street Y may not have foreseen all it would become, but Pinsky is confident their vision still holds true: “It’s a place for people to make their lives more meaningful,” he said. “It’s a place for people to connect with other people and not feel alone or isolated. And I don’t see that changing in the next 150 years in any way.”

For more information:

• 92nd Street Y, New York
• Photos courtesy of 92NY, Jack Prelutsky, Lura Burnette and Michael Priest Photography

Story produced by Lucie Kirk. Editor: Karen Brenner.