John Barber

Barber said he’s taking over most of the responsibilities of former longtime Executive Director Mark Eckendorf, who retired after 44 years in June 2022.

He said the Jamestown Y entered into a one-year management agreement with the Buffalo Niagara YMCA in May 2022, “And so our CEO, that actual title, is John Erhbar of the Buffalo Niagara Y. But they named someone local to be able to manage all of our operations. So, I’m managing all of our operations for the Jamestown, Lakewood Y, our Heritage Child Care Center, Camp Onyahsa, and, of course, the meal programs flowing out of the Eastside Y.”

Barber started with the Jamestown YMCA 15 years ago as its Teen Center Director, “So, during that time I also added on responsibilities overseeing after school and summer programming for kids at Eastside Y, including expansion of summer and after school meal programs. And then I also am property manager for Fourth Street Housing, which is 19 HUD accessible units for the physically disabled, located on the third and fourth floors of the Y.”

Barber said when it comes to the management agreement, there are no changes to local operations at this point. He said there is a possibility of a merger of the Jamestown YMCA with the Buffalo Niagara YMCA at the end of the agreement in May 2023. He said the local board of directors will decide whether to continue the management agreement for another year, and merge with the Buffalo Niagara YMCA, or end the agreement.

Tom Benson presents to City Council on new Jamestown YMCA facility plan (May 16, 2022)

The Jamestown YMCA shared their initial proposal with Jamestown City Council to build a $31 million new facility on Harrison Street, requesting $2 million in funding from the City.

Tom Benson presented on behalf of the Jamestown YMCA to council at its work session Monday night. He said the site on Harrison Street is a brownfield site and will receive tax credits to help offset construction costs. Benson said the Jamestown Y purchased the site for $1 from the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency and it’s shovel ready. He said a benefit of the location is that it’s close to the high school and to the city’s eastside.

Benson said the existing YMCA facility on East Fourth Street is one hundred years old and is not sustainable, “If we’re not successful raising the money to build this facility, the existing Y will be gone within two to three years. It’s just not sustainable. So this is kind of an all or nothing project.”

Benson said the organization is hoping to get $5 million of the funding from local foundations as well as support from the city, which he says is critical, “We have to be able to say to New York State, other foundations like the (Ralph C.) Wilson Foundation, other funding sources that this is an important project locally and here’s who’s in and have shown support. We haven’t had a chance to officially ask the city for anything yet, but we’re hopefully going to get to the point where we’re asking the city for $2 million out of the Federal recovery funds.”

Benson said the nearly 68,000 square foot facility will include 10,000 square feet of childcare space on the first floor, “So that’s enough for 90 kids. The Y is also going to keep its existing childcare space over on Prather, so that 90 spaces is incremental space.”

The facility also will include two pools, group exercise areas, a track for running and walking; gymnasium, and other exercise areas.

Benson added that Jamestown YMCA has entered into a management agreement with the Greater Buffalo YMCA.

If the project moves forward, he says there has been discussion to have the Gebbie Foundation “mothball” the East Fourth Street facility with the Lakewood location being turned into a rental-only facility for those wanting to use the tennis courts or other spaces. The Eastside Y location would have its programs moved and kitchen facility expanded.

The Eastside Family YMCA

JAMESTOWN – There’s a new program director at the Eastside YMCA.

The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting this morning that Alex Lantigua has been appointed director of the youth facility and rec center located on E. Second Street. Lantigua will oversee how the Eastside Y meets the needs of the area youth and the city’s Latino population.

Lantigua is replacing former Eastside Y manager Max Martin, who was removed from the position he held for nearly five years in February.

The Eastside Family YMCA

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown YMCA held a community meeting Thursday night at the Eastside Family YMCA. The meeting was reportedly conducted by YMCA executive director Mark Eckendorf and was held in response to the firing of former Eastside Y manager Max Martin.

According to the Post-Journal, dozens of city residents attended the meeting to learn more about the future of the Y. The article stated that John Barber, who runs the Eastside YMCA’s middle school academy, will become the facility’s new operations manager.

Eckendorf did not go into details about why Martin was fired. However, Eastside Y advisory board member Dan Soderberg was in attendance and reportedly said some of the local foundations that provide funding for Y programming were not happy with some of the decisions Martin was making while running the Eastside Y and, as a result, had said they would pull funding in 2017.

Advisory board chair Alfonso Pagan was also in attendance to defend Martin and said that a petition is being circulated in the community, stating how the Hispanic community is displeased with the decision to terminate Martin.

The Eastside Y is a branch of the Jamestown area YMCA and has an annual operating budget of $150,000. It’s been learned that a local foundation, which has not been identified publicly, had told the Y it would pull $75,000 in funding for next year, which is half the Eastside Y’s annual budget. Eckendorf said the cut would have made it difficult to continue funding Martin’s manager salary. He also said that the Y will be working to find new funding in 2017 for the Eastside Y.

Max Martin

JAMESTOWN – The head of the Eastside Family YMCA has been fired.

The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting Thursday that Max Martin was fired as manager of the Eastside Y, a position he’s held since 2011. The termination came after the Post-Journal ran an article in Wednesday’s paper focusing on a projected cut in funding for the facility, which provides programming for youth and families in Jamestown’s Hispanic community.

Martin, along with two members of the Eastside Y’s advisory board (Alfonso Pagan and John Watkins), were quoted in the paper as saying the facility was going to have its funding cut and as a result, would likely be forced to shut its doors.

Despite the timing, YMCA executive director Mark Eckendorf was quoted in Thursday’s article as saying that Wednesday’s story was not the reason why Martin was fired, but he would not disclose the reason for the termination, saying it wasn’t appropriate to discuss staff issues in the public.

According to the Post-Journal, a public meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Eastside YMCA, located at 727 E. Second St., to discuss the next steps for the community.

The Jamestown Eastside Family YMCA, located on E. Second St. (image from Google)

JAMESTOWN – The Eastside Family YMCA – which provides after school programming for dozens of Hispanic children and youth in the area – is in danger of closing its doors.

That’s according to a report in Wednesday’s Jamestown Post-Journal, which says a significant funding cut could result in the operation no longer being able to provide services to the east side community.

The Eastside Y is located on E. Second St. near the intersection with Winsor St. According to the article, the program had a budget of $150,000 in 2015, with most of that money coming from local foundations. However, a reduction in funding for 2017 has lead to Eastside Y officials to voice their concern that the program will no longer be able to operate.

The program is a community center for the Spanish speaking community and targets Hispanic students who might need help with language and literacy, and engages them in activities and learning. According to the article, the Eastside Y serves around 48 children a month, averaging 35 a day.

Jamestown Jammers field and business manager Anthony Barone during the March 17 Jammers press conference at City Hall.

JAMESTOWN, NY – It’s promising to be an exciting inaugural year for the All New Jamestown Jammers of the Prospect Collegiate Baseball League.

That’s according to team officials and city leaders, who joined with more than 30 community members on Tuesday afternoon at Jamestown City Hall to officially introduce the team’s field and business manager, Jamestown native Anthony Barone.

Barone said the roster for the new Jammers Team is nearly rounded out and will feature at least one local player – Austin Alonge, a native of Westfield who’s currently playing for Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa. He added that there may be some other opportunities for local players to join the team.

“We’re always looking for guys locally that can come in and do the job. We do have five roster spots left,” Barone said. “A lot of it is determined based on what we need. It’s not necessarily that we want to give a local guy an opportunity – that can’t always be the case. It’s what we need. But if a guy locally can do it, we’re going to sign him. Ideally, you want to keep kids from your own back yard.”

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi (right) stands with Jeff Kroon from the Boys and Girls Club (left) and Max Martin from the Eastside YMCA (center). Teresi made the first purchase of season tickets for the 2015 Jamestown Jammers and donated a pair of those tickets to the two local youth organizations.

Barone also said the team will feature what he thinks will be the fastest and most athletic summer collegiate team in the country. He said that because summer collegiate baseball leagues are so popular, a key component of recruiting is convincing prospective players why its important they should come to Jamestown.

“We have to sell Jamestown to a lot of these kids, we have to sell them the ball park, the club house, the location.” Barone said. “Because we’re competing for players not only with other teams in our league, we’re competing with other leagues in the country. Summer collegiate baseball has become huge. So we try to pitch the ballpark, the schedule, the competition, the scouts that come. Even though their amateur athletes still, they want the experience of being treated professionally.”

In addition to comments from Barone, team officials Tuesday also revealed several of the promotions that will be taking place during the season. They include a “Throwback to the 50s” home stand, “Beer Garden Tour,” and a “Princess and Superheroes” week – among others.

Also during the press conference, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi helped to kick off the start of ticket sales by making the first purchase of season tickets. The mayor purchased five season tickets and plans to donate a pair to the Jamestown Boys and Girls Club and the Eastside YMCA.

Jammers officials reveal the team T-shirt, several of which were given away to attendees of the press conference and will also be for sale throughout the 2015 season.

The Jammers team is owned by Milwaukee-based MKE Sports & Entertainment and will play 60 regular-season games in 70 days from the end of May to the first week in August. It replaces the former Jammers team, which played in the New York-Penn League and relocated to Morgantown, West Virginia at the end of the 2014 season. That team is now known as the West Virginia Black Bears.

The 12 team prospect league will feature college baseball players from throughout the country, mostly from the Midwest. The Jammers will open up the season at home on Wednesday, May 27 at 6:35 p.m. against the Butler BlueSox. Ticket prices for all Jammers games will range from $8-12.

Season ticket packages are also available. For more information, JamestownBaseball.com.

This past Saturday kicked off a month-long series of activities with the unveiling of the Healthy Community Market and featured nutritious food samples, cooking tips and recipes, produce coupons, and other healthy prizes.

According to a media release from the Health Network, Noeplace owner John Noe and his staff stepped up to pilot the Healthy Community Market in the eastside neighborhood. They worked with CCHN, The University of Buffalo Department of Urban and Regional Planning, The City of Jamestown, and Jamestown Renaissance Corporation to make this healthy food access initiative a reality.

The Eastside YMCA and Cornell Cooperative Extension have also joined in the effort to strengthen the community’s health by offering healthy eating presentations, nutrition classes, and activities at Noeplace.

Officials say the transformation of this store to offer fresh produce and a healthier inventory to its customers is part of a long term strategy to improve the health of the community.

Noeplace Convenience Store is located at 708 East 2nd Street, and is open every day, 24 hours a day.

The mission of CCHN is to strengthen the local healthcare and wellness deliver system.  For more information on Creating Healthy Places, go to www.cchn.net.

The evening will feature Hispanic music and dance lessons from Bomba Queen Productions – who will present a group dance lesson entitled  “From The Caribbean to New York.” A surprise dance lesson will also be presented.

I addition to music and dance, there will also be a variety of Hispanic food focusing on dishes from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico and Colombia.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Max Martin at the Eastside Family YMCA.