South Amboy Y Readies For Sept. 7 Opening

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Sept. 1, 2010)

SOUTH AMBOY — The new 35,000sq.ft. South Amboy Community Center/YMCA, located on O’Leary Boulevard in the Southern Waterfront Redevelopment Area between Broadway and Portia Street on land donated to the Redevelopment Agency by Peron Development, is scheduled to open its doors to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 7 — the day after Labor Day. “This very-exciting project will bring a new dimension of recreational activities to South Amboy and the surrounding communities,” South Amboy Branch YMCA Director Katie McAdoo said, while guiding the Amboy Beacon on an exclusive pre-opening tour. “What we’re planning to do is to serve the communities of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge, South Amboy, Perth Amboy and Piscataway in the most-comprehensive way we can.” The Metuchen-Edison YMCA, which has signed a 20-year lease to operate the facility, with two options for renewal, will provide the programming while maintaining the building. McAdoo said the long-awaited YMCA will offer a “substantial discount” to South Amboy residents who join early, but to out-of-towners who find its location convenient, the cost will still be a bargain. Family memberships are expected to be around $40-a-month for residents and around $50-a-month for non-residents, while individual memberships for those between Ages 18 and 26 — the age-group traditionally targeted by the YMCA — are expected to be around $20-a-month for residents and around $25-a-month for non-residents, she said. “At this time, the South Amboy Community Center/YMCA is in the very-final stages of construction,” McAdoo said. “We anticipate opening the first week of September as-planned.” As of Wednesday, July 13, there has been water in the 25-yard, six-lane pool, which is very-inviting. Other facilities include a babysitting room, locker-rooms with private showers, family changing-rooms, a full-court gymnasium, a group-exercise studio and a 6,000sq.ft. wellness center. At the Sept. 7 opening, McAdoo plans to announce the process for registration and a selection of available programming, which she expects to begin to offer to the public on Monday, Sept. 13. “We’ll be providing focused activities, such as swim-lessons, group-exercise classes and parent-child enrichment classes, in-addition to our general membership use of the building’s facilities,” McAdoo said. The South Amboy Community Center/YMCA also will be a new home to the city’s Recreation Department, cable-television studio and Senior Citizen Resource Center. “Senior facilities will include a kitchen, a youth activity room and offices for the city’s Senior/Recreation Director,” McAdoo said. “We look-forward to serving the recreational needs of all ages.” The existing Senior Citizen Resource Center, S. Stevens Avenue, formerly the Marathon Bus Co. terminal, is expected to be sold to a private developer. Middlesex County has given $3 million grant toward the $11 million cost associated with the building’s construction. Added to that are $5 million from the Redevelopment Agency and $3 million bonded by the city.

(NOTE: Exclusive Photos of the South Amboy YMCA by Carolyn Maxwell are available for purchase by calling 732-442-1900)