The Goal Is Having Fun At the 92nd Street Y

Posted on Oct 16, 2013

The Goal Is Having Fun At the 92nd Street Y

José Ortiz ’99, director of the teen center and 92nd Street Y after-school programs, says that his days really ramp up around 2:30 p.m. 
when children and teenagers from nearby schools start pouring in for after-school programs that run into the early evening. José directs the Y’s enrichment and community service–based programs throughout the school year. Three hundred school-age children and 1,500 teens participate in these programs. Every afternoon roughly 40 interns and community-
service volunteers join the children to help out.

“It’s busy,” José says. “I need to be visible, as the director, and I’m on my feet most of the day, greeting and connecting with kids and volunteers. On one day, I might speak to one parent and on another day, 50 parents. Fast-paced activity, interaction, problem solving: I enjoy this and look forward to the new challenge each day.”

José is also the Y’s ambassador when it comes to recruiting families to join the after-school programs. He travels to local schools in various city neighborhoods to speak at PTA and administration meetings. “It’s about being on the ground, and as a nonprofit, not spending a lot of money on marketing. It’s a personal effort. I try to get in front of the families, so I can answer their questions right there. I also talk with current families about spreading the word about what we offer here.”

A full block long and wide, with a vast array of programs and activities, the 92nd Street Y has been a beloved New York City institution for more than 125 years. It was founded in 1886 as the first Jewish community center in the U.S. when Jews were not allowed to join YMCAs. Today, the massive building includes a fitness center, pool, renowned nursery school, playground, indoor basketball courts, center for new parents, and auditorium. Programming is diverse (i.e., not all religion-based) and appeals to all ages.

“Growing up, I was always connected to the 92nd Street Y. We lived in East Harlem, a neighborhood that has always struggled and was really tough when I was growing up. It bordered this affluent neighborhood, however, and some family members worked at the Y. That’s how I came to work there as a summer camp counselor when I was 16.”

At Milton, José worked at the on-campus children’s daycare and tutored students at a local church in the Boston neighborhood of Mattapan.
“My connection to children was good in general, but working with kids from neighborhoods similar to mine struck a chord. As I worked my way through school and opportunities became available, I realized I didn’t need to spend the next five to eight years figuring out what I wanted to do with my life; I had already figured out what my passion was. My salary wasn’t going to be high, but this was what made me happy.
José worked 40-hour weeks at the Y while he attended Baruch College in Manhattan. He considered law school, but José says as he grew closer to the programs, “I knew I couldn’t leave.” He became a director when he was only 21.

José is proud of the programs he runs and the options available to students, who can choose from roughly 40 classes per day, from hip-hop, drawing, and digital music to tae kwon do and swimming. One of José’s favorite activities, in the junior clubhouse, is for kindergarten students, the only ones not allowed to do homework when they are at the Y. The goal is having fun, and continuing to learn, so middle school volunteers come to read books to them.

“The little kids look up to the older ones. They are so excited to know them and be around them. That makes the reading more exciting; volunteers on the younger end can connect more.”

José believes in fostering social development from the earliest possible age. Although a babysitter or nanny might be the right choice for some families after school, José says that these programs provide necessary social stimulation that helps a child interact well with his or her peers, and in society. They are learning things geared to their interests, or developing new interests, and just as important, learning what they don’t like to do. All these experiences have a sustained impact in their development as young adults.

If José gets back into his office in the afternoon, he is usually not alone. Children come in and out to chat, or just to sit on the bright red bench that serves as a refuge when some just need a break. José does deal with a number of unpredictable and variable challenges.

“We always have a few families that are less responsive to our direction or are not as involved as they should be. People’s circumstances in working families, or with single moms or dads, make life challenging for parents and children. Being there for a child is important.” Recently, when a parent passed away, José’s staff mobilized to support the child as well as give him a place where his loss wasn’t at the center of things. “We want to keep this place as safe and free from the outside world as possible,” says José
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The outside world does intervene. The Sandy Hook tragedy affected the 92nd Street Y both directly and indirectly.

“Sometimes, parents don’t know how to respond to some of the questions that children ask after these horrible events. Some don’t want their child to learn about events without them or want to be the person telling their child. When one child knows, however, his or her knowledge spreads to 30 other children in the classroom. So we think, ‘How do we help the families respond to that situation?’”

After Sandy Hook, José’s staff marshaled resources and put together a counseling kit for families about the services they provide. He is proud of their work. Responses from families were amazing and positive, he says.

The building quiets down in the summer as activity shifts to the camp programs on the Henry Kaufman campgrounds in Rockland County, New York. In past summers, José has worked at the camps; in fact, he met his wife at camp when they were teenagers. With a new baby in his family, José stayed at the 92nd Street Y building this summer to focus on planning for the upcoming year.

“When I started working here, I was a typical teenager; I didn’t understand what my supervisors really did and how hard they worked. That understanding develops over time. I enjoy seeing that same sense of things in some of our teens who eventually become staff members. An evolution takes place, just like it did for me. This job has so many layers of responsibilities and sometimes difficulties, too; but I look for the difficulties because they help me grow in my position. They also help me improve the experience for my staff and for the young children and the teens.”

–Liz Matson