Dodge YMCA
Conveniently located on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, the Dodge YMCA serves more than 23,300 New Yorkers each year with its state-of-the-art fitness facilities, pool, youth programs and a community committed to helping you achieve your goals.
Our Spaces
Leadership Staff
Executive Director
infododge@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2410
Sara Reyes
Membership Director
sreyes@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2400
Shana Bredwood
Youth & Family Director
sbredwood@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2414
Aytaissa Kirkpatrick
Aquatics Director
akirkpatrick@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2421
Omari Haughton
Teen Coordinator
ohaughton@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2417
Diane Jean-Jacques
Business Manager
djeanjacques@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2412
Leah Love Palmer
Director, Healthy Lifestyles
lpalmer@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2420
Kilvio Vargas
Property Director
kvargas@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2422
Board of Managers
Barbara Lowe
2019 Chair
Michelle Brindley
Brendan Coburn
Steve Dietz
Lynn Douglas
Alexa Eccles
Ted Newman
Nicole O’Dell Odim
Kim Soule
Peter Hamilton
Francois Attal
Allen Robinson
History
The YMCA in Brooklyn, New York, founded in 1853, initially met in a series of churches throughout the County of Kings. In 1885 the Brooklyn YMCA dedicated its first purpose-built building, at 502 Fulton Street. The new building included the first YMCA facility swimming pool. The branch boasted other athletic “firsts”: In 1896 its basketball team participated in the first professional game against the Trenton, New Jersey, YMCA, and the branch also hosted the first national YMCA swimming championships.
In 1915, the Brooklyn Association dedicated its new Central building, known as "the largest YMCA in the world." Located on the block bordered by Hanson Place, Fort Greene Place, and South Elliott Place, the building project was funded by generous gifts from donors such as Mrs. William Van Rensselaer Smith, members of the Pratt family, and John D. Rockefeller. In addition to building the new Central branch, the Brooklyn Association purchased a new site for the Twenty-sixth Ward branch and began fundraising for an expanded Prospect Park branch at the same time.
In the years following World War I, the Brooklyn Association expanded its focus beyond its roots, conducting Americanization programs targeted at immigrants, most of whom were not evangelical Protestants. In 1924, the association changed its name to the Brooklyn and Queens YMCA to reflect the branch's expansion into the neighboring borough. In 1957 the Brooklyn and Queens YMCA merged with the New York YMCA to become the YMCA of Greater New York.
After weathering some tough financial storms during the Depression, the Central branch ended the 20th century operating from a storefront in Brooklyn Heights. In 2005, however, the branch was reborn in a new building on Atlantic Avenue, funded in part by a significant grant from the Dodge Family Foundation, and the branch name officially changed its name to the Dodge branch of the YMCA of Greater New York.