The 6,756 square foot building, located at 727 E. Second St., was once home to the 2XL Youth Boxing program prior to the YMCA acquiring the structure in 2003.

However, the legacy of the Eastside Y revolves around service to the community – especially the Latino community in Jamestown – something which individuals associated with the Eastside branch location are very vocal about.

“The Eastside Y provided essential programming to the Puerto Rican and Latino community members in our city,” said Billy Torres, former Eastside YMCA director.

Torres managed the Eastside Y’s program from 2010 -2015.

Alex Lantigua, a former Eastside YMCA program participant, and now the Y’s C.C. Ring After-School Site Director is pictured having fun with some of the children in his care. Lantigua worked his way up the ranks at the Y, starting as a youth worker, manager and now a director. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

“The building was always packed,” he said. “One of the biggest and most important programs we ran was our bilingual program. Graciela Anderson was phenomenal with helping kids who spoke little or no English – to learn to speak and understand the language.

Torres said the community is still reaping the benefits of the Eastside YMCA today.

“Alex Lantigua, started at the Eastside YMCA as a kid in our program, now he’s a long-time employee of the YMCA,” Torres said.

John Barber, Jamestown Area YMCA CEO, echoed Torres’ sentiment.

“Our C.C. Ring Elementary afterschool site director Alex Lantigua, started with the Y as a kid in our programs and worked his way up the ranks,” he said.

Barber also stated that the decision to sell the Eastside Y has more to do with progressive programing movements and becoming more accessible to the Hispanic community than anything else.

“The Jamestown YMCA is selling the Eastside YMCA because programs operating out of that facility have been relocated to other locations through a progressive process that has been happening over the last five to six years. During that time period, the YMCA shifted our school-based programs to become more accessible to Latino families that now represent nearly 25% of the JPS student population. The YMCA was proud to offer Eastside YMCA, which was known for providing a variety of programs that catered to the needs of Latino families,” he said.

Barber explained that it was only natural for the Y to learn from the success at Eastside to make sure that school-based programs offered in elementary schools were becoming better equipped to meet the needs of Latino families. The shift naturally resulted in more children choosing out-of-school time programs that are already located in the school they attended during the day rather than attending offsite at the Eastside Y. By the fall of 2022, the YMCA had shifted all school-age childcare programming to school-based locations.

Additionally, as the Y is focused on maintaining financial stability the mission of the Eastside Y changed from youth programming to a meal preparation site to support the Y’s after-school meal program and summer lunch program.

“This past fall, it became evident that Eastside would not be suitable as a long-term home for meal programming. Eastside has some infrastructure needs and kitchen facility updates that ultimately led us to conclude that relocating meal operations would be more suitable to sustaining our programs. As of fall 2024, our after-school meal programs have shifted production to the St. Susan Center, where we share the use of their kitchen,” said Barber. “This partnership agreement has been working well. We are still looking for a more suitable space for our summer meal operations, which require kitchen space ideal for daily meal production that can quadruple during the summer weeks.”

However, with the closure and sale of the Eastside location some have questioned will the levels of programs and services offered by the Y be affected?

“The Eastside Y was a center point for most of the Hispanic youth in our area. …It was a place we called our own and home for many,” said Torres. “Many youths … who I see on the streets, under their now fully-grown facial hair, thank me, and tell me that the Eastside Y was the best part of their lives,” said Torres. “We had children who’d come to the Eastside to wash their clothes and clean up – because the water at their house was shut off,” he said. “Problems like that still exist. The Eastside Y filled a vital role. This is a shame. It’s the end of an era.”

For one longtime East Side Y program participant the shuttering of the Eastside location comes as bitter-sweet news.

“I loved my time at the Eastside Y,” said Victor Diaz Carrasquillo-Caballero, a native of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and resident of Jamestown since 2005. “I learned to speak English there, would eat a meal, and get help with homework. I owe a lot to the Y and the Eastside location. I hope and pray they continue to find ways to reach the Latino community the way the Y reached me as a 11-year old little boy who spoke very little English.”

Barber said that the Y is still meeting the needs of the local community, but just in a different way now.

“While the sale of the Eastside Y will ultimately result in a reduction of the number of buildings operated by the Jamestown YMCA, it will not result in a reduction to the programs and services being offered by the Y,” he said.