NAACP Assails YMCA Decision to Close Pottstown Y

Photo by Evan Brandt

Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA CEO Sean Elliott, third from right, faces Johnny Corson, second from right, president of the Pottstown chapter of the NAACP, during a much-anticipated meeting between the two organizations Monday at the Pottstown branch, scheduled for closure next month.

Members of the Pottstown Chapter of the NAACP have left little doubt with officials from the Philadelphia-Freedom Valley YMCA about their feelings about the decision to close the Pottstown YMCA branch next month.

Monday evening, CEO Shaun Elliott and several members of the Philadelphia-Freedom Valley YMCA board of directors, accepted the invitation from Johnny Corson, president of the Pottstown Chapter of the NAACP, to hear more community input and answer questions.

The meeting began with an attempt by Elliott, who no longer responds to email queries from The Mercury, to close the meeting to the press and evict yours truly.

Here's a little of what that looked like:



But Corson said "it's our meeting," and that when he had first proposed it, he had said it would be open to the public and the press.

"Our meetings are open to the public and we have to be transparent. If there's anything you don't want the media to report, don't bring it up," said Corson.

And with that, NAACP members proceeded to demonstrate that whatever Elliott may not want to say, they had a lot to say.

"We will be left with nothing when you walk out of here," said Clifton Bradshaw, who repeatedly chided the YMCA officials for not understanding Pottstown's unique circumstances and comparing the Y's history of closing facilities in poor communities and building news ones in wealthy communities to the past practice of real estate "red lining" that segregated communities.

"I don't think you realize what you've done," said NAACP member Bobby Watson. "when you were racking up those

"The community was brought in AFTER you had a vote" to close the branch, said Bishop Everett Debnam of Invictus Ministries.

"Can I tell you what it looks like from 100 miles up?" said Bob Bauers. "In this country today, the 'have-nots' keep giving up more and more and you now look like an agent in that trend. From an airplane view, it looks racist. What else could we conclude?"

Corson said the NAACP believes that, whether the YMCA officials meant it or not, that the YMCA's action looks like discrimination, when low-income high-minority YMCAs are closed or marginalized while huge steel and glass structures are built in wealthier communities like Spring-Ford, Phoenixville and Upper Moreland.

Elliott, who did most of the speaking for the YMCA side of the discussion, argued that the organization also maintains facilities in Camden, and West Philadelphia.

"But those communities are already segregated," said Bradshaw. "What you are missing about Pottstown, which is a gem, is that its integrated."

Elliott said that operating deficits experienced by the Pottstown branch resulted in the larger organization spending $5 million at the Pottstown site in the last five years.

"As deficits were accumulating, who was responsible?" asked Watson.

"I think real costs come from corporate overhead," said James Konnick, a former president of the Pottstown YMCA board when it merged with Phoenixville in 2007 and a member of the task force formed last year and charged with making suggestions on how to continue services without maintaining the building.

"You charge $700,000 a year to this building for administration," said Konnick. "Are we getting $700,000 worth of services? If you have 18 Ys that's an administration of $14 million."

Konnick questioned the board members about this high number and said if Elliott's figures are right, and the Pottstown site's deficits went from $200,000 a year to $800,000 a year, "why was board not asking questions about that? didn't that alarm you?"

Konnick and several other speakers said despite Elliott's assertions that annual fund drives benefitted Pottstown, that it seemed no effort had been made either to secure grants to pay for repairs with the building or local fundraising events.

"I've spoken with donors who said they haven't heard from the Y in 10 years," said Konnick.

"We don't get money from the government," said Elliott. (Last month The Mercury reported that Philadelphia-Freedom Valley YMCAs received $8 million in state grants since 2000.)

After explaining that the site's operating deficits prevented investment in the building's infrastructure, Elliott said "the operating deficit is not the issue, it's the building. What we can't afford is the building itself that requires so much money. We think it's better to spend money on people."

He said, as he has previously, that the building needs roughly $3.5 million in repairs almost immediately and $11 million total over 10 years. 

"The challenge is the building itself," said Elliott who responded that the Philadelphia-Freedom Valley YMCA does not face this problem at any of its other 18 branches.

"In 50 years, will Willow Grove be left to fall apart," asked NAACP member Larry Cohen in reference to the new $30 million facility being built in Upper Moreland Township. "I don't think so."

Elliott said his organization has secured a new site for childcare in Sanatoga, which most community members said would be too far for those in the borough who walk, but one board member responded that all but a few of the 112 who received childcare at North Adams Street has signed up at the new site.

He said his staff is also seeking a facility to rent for health and wellness services.

However, Corson and Debnam both said the NAACP does not accept the proposed concept of a "Y without Walls."

"That's like the Giant sayings its building is not sustainable, so they're going to have the produce section on Charlotte Street, and the meat section on King Street," Debnam said.

The group also heard from two Pottstown High School students about what the closure means to Pottstown's youth.

Senior Courteney Parry said the YMCA is a "safe place" for teens to go during the summer, a place where they can keep out of trouble.

"This is going to put kids on the street, this is their place to be, so they can be safe" said senior David Van Wallace Jr.

Here is some video of him speaking at the meeting:

The meeting broke up after more than two hours of talking, and Elliott said he would be willing to follow up with Corson.

"First Pottstown lost its community pool," said Corson. "They let the pool run down and then they said the same thing you're saying, that it cost too much. Then before we could propose a solution, they filled it in with dirt."

Then, said Corson, Pottstown lost the Ricketts Community Center when it was leased out to the Boys and Girls club whose rules were so restrictive of adult use "that I couldn't even work out with my son."

"This is the last place we have," said Corson.

"We respect your opinion and we've heard you loud and clear," said Elliott.
Technical note: I discovered today that Twitter Moments has a 50-Tweet max, so some of the Tweets from the beginning of the meeting, while still on Twitter, are not part of the round-up embedded below. Live and learn.


NAACP Questions YMCA Officials About Closure of Pottstown branch