By Katherine Turner

(2012)

The YTC Story

The words flashed on the page like a neon sign.

Helena Rodriguez stared in disbelief as she read and reread a statement by a local politician describing herself and her cohorts, who had invested so much time and energy into saving their local teen center, as “rogue parents” who “didn’t have all their ducks in a row.”

“We gave a binder with all our plans for the year laid out,” Rodriguez said. “He must not have even read it.”

Smitten with rage at not only the insult, but the outright inaccuracy of such a statement, Rodriguez now describes this as a defining moment that drove her forward in her mission to keep the teen center from closing.

“After that, there was no other option” Rodriguez said. “We had to make it work.”

The Yorktown Teen Center, Inc. was formerly a satellite of a national youth organization. When, in 2009, the organization announced that they were closing their Yorktown branch, Rodriguez’s daughter, Samantha “Sami” Rodriguez, became upset that future teens would no longer have a place to socialize, learn and connect with peers.

Parents were also concerned that their teens would not have a supervised place to go after school. As Joan Valenstein, a well-known local youth advocate wrote in an editorial, “The hours between 3 and 6 are the most dangerous for youngsters, who by necessity, go home to an empty house.” Valenstein was a founding member of the YTC who died in a car accident in 2010. She was dedicated to keeping the center open, writing that “Yorktown kids needed a positive place that was drug- and alcohol-free, a place where they could just ‘hang out’ and socialize with friends.”

Sami,  a volunteer and now the youngest member of the YTC board, persuaded her mother to get involved.

“When my daughter said ‘Mom, you have to do something!’ I asked ‘Why me?’ I had nothing to gain since Sami was graduating high school that year … but thinking about it, I just couldn’t think of a reason why not.”

In June, 2009, the Advisory Board, reorganized as a steering committee. The committee then incorporated, becoming the present Yorktown Teen Center, Inc. (YTC) a Not-for-Profit 501c3 charity.

Teens Get Involved

Despite the reduction in space, teen membership and participation in the numerous activities offered continues to grow. Perry Matsa, a board member and one of the original founders, describes the center as the little engine that could. “We used to cheer when 15 kids showed up,” said Matsa. “Now we have more than 200.” The YTC board developed ideas for programs by asking teens about their interests. The result was a wide variety of enriching activities that continue to evolve and expand as the teens take initiative and become leaders.

The highest attendance is at the monthly First Fridays Café Open-Mic Night, which the center co-sponsors with the Justin Veatch Fund, which provides scholarships for young musicians. At Open-Mic Night, teens have the opportunity to showcase their musical talents in the First Fridays Café, a room on the ground floor of the YCCC that is decorated to look like CBGB’s in Manhattan.

Sitting in on open-mic night, one is impressed with the sophistication of the performances; not only the sound and lighting equipment but the coordination of the musicians, who play together like professionals. Talented vocalists deliver nearly flawless performances, from a soulful rendition of Etta James’ “At Last” to Justin Bieber’s “Girlfriend.” Instrumentals range from the basic keyboard, guitar and drum combination to the aboriginal didgeridoo, which provides an otherworldly accompaniment to vocals reminiscent of Enya and Dido.

Open-mic night provides a venue for young musicians that they might not have otherwise. For example, rising-star musician Kristina Koller was discovered by a radio DJ while playing at open-mic night. Teen musician Zerena Lupo started performing at open-mic nights and has gone on to play at larger venues such as Manhattan’s Bitter End.

The center teens also participate in community service activities, including volunteering in events such as Healthy Yorktown and Concert for Cancer. Zerena Lupo is one of many teens who routinely organize charity concerts, including monthly performances at the Fieldhome rehabilitation and assisted living facility.

Special events such as the NextGen Arts festival give students a chance to show their talents in fine arts, film, photography and poetry. Due to generous donations of video equipment by the Harrison Apar Field of Dreams foundation, the teens are able to produce and edit their own films in the Harrison Apar Video and Technology Club.

For teens interested in sports, the center hosts periodic basketball tournaments and events such as the Hoops Challenge. The members also have access to the basketball court and track at certain times in the afternoon.

Day-to-Day Challenges

The center functions with an all-volunteer staff, which it owes to the significant support of the Yorktown community. It has won the support of various local businesses, who continue to donate items such as food, games and furniture. Many local businesses also participate in fundraising events to keep the center going.

Rodriguez hopes, however, to secure funding in order to hire full-time staff. “It would really take some of the pressure off the volunteers … and me,” she said. Rodriguez herself balances a full-time job with supervising the center 6 days a week.

The center is not currently an official after-school program, which has many disadvantages. For example, Michelle Marchetti, a volunteer and teacher at Yorktown Middle School, described that while the Boys and Girls Club was provided a bus to take teens to the center directly from school, YTC is currently dependent on parents for transportation. “They work it out with carpools,” she said. “But still you wonder how many kids are excluded simply because they can’t get here.”

Space is also an issue, as they are operating in half the space as before with many more members. “If we could get the old space back, we could turn it into a game room,” said Marchetti. “A ping-pong table was donated that we couldn’t accept because there was nowhere to put it.”

The teen center has definitely won the support of members of the local community, who have no question as to the positive influence the center has on Yorktown teens. For example, Bruce Apar described the center on his blog as “a much-needed haven for our young people, where they can socialize, entertain one another and discover self expression.” The North County News describes the YTC as “one of the best and brightest beacons of the future.”

Perry Matsa sums up the importance of keeping the teen center open: “The community has to serve every segment of its population; it is our responsibility to provide healthy and enriching activities for our teens.” Matsa and the other board members hope that the center will receive adequate funding to not only maintain current activities, but to grow and expand so that no teen in the community is left out. “To have a thriving community,” Matsa said, “it is essential that we teach our teens how to be leaders.”