Marc Rattner was singing an old jazz standard while music school faculty member Jamie Reynolds played the piano. It’s something Rattner has been doing for a decade, studying voice and piano at the 92nd Street Y, New York.

“It is really a terrific place,” Rattner said, as he started hitting the keys himself. 

Music lessons are just one of the myriad of activities going on inside 92NY at Lexington Aveue and East 92nd Street on the Upper East Side. The organization had its genesis in 1874, as the Young Men’s Hebrew Association.

What You Need To Know

  • The 92nd Street Y, New York, was founded as a Jewish Community Center in 1874

  • The organization moved to 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side in 1900

  • The organization features fitness, music, art, dance and hosts performances and talks with actors, performers and journalists

  • 92NY was founded as the Young Men's Hebrew Association

“It was originally founded by a group of German-Jewish philanthropists and civic leaders, who decided that we needed to create a home for the large number of Eastern European Jews who were coming to America in the late 19th Century. But over time we have dramatically expanded our mission and now we serve not just the Jewish community, but the whole community here in New York and around the world,” 92NY CEO Seth Pinsky said.

On a stroll around the building, you can find folks making shoes, swimming, taking a Zumba class, playing Mahjong or Canasta, or brushing up on their oil painting skills.

“It is certainly a magnet that draws from the community,” Louise Greilsheimer, who was painting in an art class at 92NY, said.

On any night, you never know who will show up at 92NY. The greats of stage and screen are often they’re discussing their careers and latest roles. 92NY has also been an important place in the dance world, and a new exhibit in the gallery looks back on that — the writer and Holocaust suvivor Elie Wiesel spoke here on numerous occassions. Pinsky described the 92NY as a bundle of contradictions.

“On the one hand, it’s a temple of high art, on the other hand it’s a community center. On the one hand it’s a very local institution serving the Upper East Side, on the other hand we have patrons from over 200 countries and all 50 states,” Pinsky said.

Pinsky says 92NY is always evolving and transforming, but at its heart it’s about transforming individual lives, enriching individual lives, and creating community and connections between and among people.