6.19.22 - A Rebranded ‘92NY’ Is Getting a Long-Awaited Renovation
' Changes are afoot at the 92nd Street Y. For starters, that’s not technically its name anymore.
After emerging from a challenging pandemic that halted its in-person programming, the longtime Upper East Side institution for arts and enrichment has rebranded itself, leaned into digital offerings and is now set to begin a long-awaited renovation of its home on the corner of 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue.
A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for later this month at one of the cultural center's public performance spaces, Buttenwieser Hall. The work on that space will kick off a new phase of what officials say is a broader $200 million master plan to reimagine the campus, which is mostly concentrated in two buildings on a city block of Lexington Avenue between East 91st and 92nd Streets.
The plan was developed during the pandemic in large part by Seth Pinsky, the chief executive of the institution, which last month was renamed the 92nd Street Y, New York — or 92NY for short.
When Mr. Pinsky, the former head of the Bloomberg administration’s economic development arm, took over in fall of 2019, the cultural and community center had already raised $180 million, some of which was set aside for improvements to the building.
Buttenwieser Hall, the creation of a new dance studio on the second floor of the north building and upgrades to the gym, known as the May Center. Officials also intend to demolish and relocate some office space in prime areas of the building to make room for even more performance space.
Money on hand will cover this phase of the work, which is likely to take 12 to 18 months. But there will need to be additional fund-raising to complete the full $200 million plan, Mr. Pinsky said. What exactly will happen during the next phase of the renovation is still being discussed. '
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