Riverdale Y receives $1.7M for older adult center

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Since its founding by Gerald Goldsmith in 1967, the Riverdale YM-YWHA at 5625 Arlington Ave. has been a community staple, offering a variety of programs for all ages.

The community center’s New Beginnings program, open to those 60 and older, recently received more than $1.7 million from the New York City Department for the Aging. Membership to the senior program is free and includes kosher lunch served every weekday, free in-person social work services, transportation, field trips, and classes on a variety of topics such as technology, arts and culture, health and wellness, and guest lectures.

Funding for the program is provided largely by the city, with additional donations coming from local elected officials and member contributions. However, the program’s vast offerings are due in large part to the city’s $1.7 million endowment.

“These funds allow us to deliver essential services such as meals, transportation, social services, programming, and more for the older adults in the community,” Riverdale Y CEO Melissa Sigmond wrote in an email to The Press.

Across the city, the Department for the Aging funds over 300 older adult centers and affiliated sites to provide free membership for adults 60 and older. While members enjoy an array of programming, the funding is specifically designated to assist with transportation.

At the Y, older adult members can request accessible van transportation to the center for a suggested donation of $2.50 each way or use the transportation service for trips to medical visits with a suggested donation of $4 each way.

Facilities inside the building include a basketball court, a saline pool, and a fitness center equipped with personal training and group classes. Basketball and soccer programs are also available for children.

The Early Childhood Center within the facility serves children aged two through five, including a pre-kindergarten program. The center’s approach has three prongs: stimulating minds, nurturing bodies, and creating community. Within these frameworks, foundational skills such as literacy, exploration, personal hygiene, nutrition, self-esteem, and social interaction are the focus.

Additionally, the Y offers after-school programs, classes for infants and toddlers, and summer camps focusing on dance, drama, swimming, or sports.

It is also home to The Theater at Riverdale Y, which stages multiple productions each year. "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Seussical" are currently auditioning for their spring premieres. The theater has three resident theater companies: Riverdale Rising Stars, founded in 2000 as a competitive program for seventh- through twelfth-grade students; Jr. Rising Stars, established in 2005, for third- through sixth-grade children; and the adult theater program, Riverdale Rep, founded in 2007.

The most recent addition to the theater is Little Rising Stars, a 10-week program for first- through third-graders, who will perform "101 Dalmatians KIDS" on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.

For those looking beyond theater, the Rhoda Grundman Music School, housed at the Y, offers music and dance lessons for children and also provides adult ballet classes.

In addition to its in-house programs, the Y has hosted the Sunday Market since June 2011. Shira Silverman, Sunday Market manager and volunteer coordinator, has overseen the market since 2019 and refers to the event as the “village square” because of the nearly 800 community members who attend weekly.

“It’s a place that’s become part of people’s weekly routines. It’s a place where they go to interact with the vendors and with their neighbors,” Silverman said.

The market is on break for the winter but will resume at the end of March and run through December.

Riverdale Y, older adult centers, $1.7 million, Sunday market, theater programs

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