Overview:
After years of advocacy by residents and elected officials, plans for an 18,000-square-foot YMCA community center in Elmont, Long Island, are moving forward. The $4.8 million project, part of the broader Belmont Park redevelopment, will be developed and operated by the YMCA of Long Island. Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, who has pushed for the center since its initial proposal, says the facility could provide much-needed recreational, educational and social opportunities for local families. Haitian community leaders also envision the YMCA as a gathering place where residents can celebrate their culture, access resources and build connections. While funding and a location have been secured, construction and opening dates remain unannounced.
After years of advocacy from residents and elected officials, plans for a new YMCA community center in Elmont are moving forward. The center will provide recreational, educational and social opportunities for families across the neighborhood. The planned 18,000-square-foot facility, located at 570 Elmont Road, will be developed and operated by the YMCA of Long Island.
Construction and opening dates have not yet been announced; however, Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, who championed the community center’s development, is optimistic the project will be completed by 2031.
“I would imagine within the next five years [they would begin development],” Solages said, who represents Elmont and other surrounding communities in Nassau County, including Valley Stream.
“I’m trying to be realistic because, let’s say, on Jan. 1, we know what we want. There’s the process of designing, getting permits, going through zoning, demolishing, building, putting the finishes on and then opening. That’s gonna take, [what] I’m hoping, is less than five years.”
While the timeline remains uncertain, the project marks a step toward fulfilling a long-standing commitment to bringing a community center to Elmont.
“This milestone represents a significant moment in time and investment in the future of the Elmont community,” Anne Brigis, president and CEO of YMCA of Long Island, said in a statement. “Bringing the Y’s mission to Elmont is both an honor and a responsibility we take seriously.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans for the $4.8 million community center on April 30. The project will receive $2.5 million in state funding, with the remaining $2.3 million coming from UBS Arena, the New York Islanders and Empire State Development.
The Elmont YMCA is the latest addition to the Belmont Park redevelopment project, first announced by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in September 2017. The larger initiative includes UBS Arena, Belmont Park Racetrack and Grandstand, Belmont Park Village and improvements to local transportation and infrastructure.
UBS Arena opened in November 2021 as part of the Belmont Park redevelopment project. The larger initiative includes plans for a new YMCA community center in Elmont, following years of advocacy from residents and elected officials. Photo courtesy of Hannah Mudry.
We were able to negotiate several community benefits [as part of the Belmont Park redevelopment], including a community center,” Solages said. “They initially wanted to give us a room in the UBS Arena as a community space, but, because of the work of the community and the elected [officials] like myself, we got a community center out of it.”
Solages has been advocating for the community center since the Belmont Park project’s initial proposal. In December 2023, she launched a petition urging Empire State Development and New York Arena Partners to fulfill their commitment to the project.
The following month, Solages joined local officials and residents at a rally outside Belmont Park, calling for construction to begin by the end of 2024. Despite delays, she continued working with state officials and developers to secure a location and operator for the facility.
Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages joins community leaders outside Belmont Park in January 2024 to advocate for the Elmont Community Center. Photo provided by the office of Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages.
“ The community deserves a community center. If you go to all of the communities surrounding us, they have a community center. This area doesn’t have [one],” Solages said. “I have to thank Governor Hochul, who really listened to the community. [She] said, ‘You don’t deserve a community space. You deserve a community center.””
In a statement announcing the project, Hochul emphasized the importance of expanding community resources in Elmont.
“New Yorkers made a commitment to deliver a community space in Elmont as part of the Belmont Park redevelopment, and today we are taking an important step to fulfill that promise for its residents,” Hochul said. “By working closely with community members and local leaders, we identified a site that is more accessible and better suited to serve families, seniors and young people for generations to come.”
The location, selected based on feedback from Elmont community members and Empire State Development, is centrally situated behind Elmont High School, alongside a strip mall and diagonally across from several churches.
“By transforming a long-vacant property into a modern community facility, this project will expand opportunities for local families, support youth and seniors and ensure this investment provides meaningful, lasting benefits for neighborhood residents,” said Hope Knight, Empire State Development president, CEO and commissioner.
Solages believes having a community center at 570 Elmont Road will particularly benefit families living on that side of town, offering opportunities for after-school care, summer camps and year-round sports programs.
Beyond recreation, a space for Haitian culture and community
Beyond recreation and education, community leaders hope the YMCA will strengthen cultural connections and provide a welcoming environment for Elmont’s Haitian residents.
Haitian Americans make up approximately 11.6% of Elmont’s population, representing the area’s largest reported ancestry group, according to the American Community Survey (ACS).
“For the Haitian community, the YMCA is a gathering place. Especially now, when people are afraid to come out, this could be a place where people can get accurate information. People can just gather and start healing from the trauma that exists,” said Solages. “We could start redefining what it means to be Haitian. You flip the news, and you see the president calling our country substandard, but Haiti is one of the most beautiful places. We can really try to extinguish the trauma of the misinformation that is going on.”
Solages hopes the center will provide a welcoming space for Haitian residents to celebrate their culture and challenge negative stereotypes through events such as book sales, fashion shows and Creole-language seminars.
Haitian community leader Claire Leon shares that vision, hoping the center will provide a stress-free environment where residents feel comfortable discussing their challenges, building trust and fostering unity.
“I have a nonprofit organization for mental health…We’re getting a lot of calls where people are saying they’re depressed; people saying they want to kill themselves; people saying they’re having anxiety,” Leon said. “By knowing you might have somewhere you [can call] a home, you have a place where people are like you, [you have a place] people don’t see you differently, that would be a great thing for the Haitian community.”
Although a groundbreaking date has yet to be announced, the YMCA is gathering community feedback to determine programming needs, which will help shape the building’s design.
“We are really in the first stage of this whole process. It’s gonna take some years [to begin construction]. You can’t build a community center in a couple of days,” Solages said. “I think the YMCA has begun the process of designing the facility, but [ they’re] in the process of finding out what the community wants. In order for [the center] to be sustainable, the community has to be engaged.”
Leon has advocated for the project, spreading awareness among residents and highlighting the programs and opportunities the center could bring to Elmont and surrounding communities.
Community leaders and elected officials are expected to meet in mid-November to review building plans and discuss the next steps in the center’s development.
“By having a YMCA, I think it will be a good opportunity for a lot of parents with small kids to get them involved and keep them busy,” Leon said. “There [are] so many great things, and positive things, that can come out of that center.”
