YWCA To Close Doors (624 9th St NW)

They are also having a furniture sale today:

10:30am – 1:00pm
2:30 – 4:00pm

Items include desks, chairs, tables, sofas, lateral files, Bookcases, white boards, podium, television, VCR, Washer/Dryer, and a Medical Suite of Furniture and Equipment.

We knew that this was coming. There was no interest in keeping the fitness center open from the Board.

I stopped by to look at the furniture sale – as you might excpect, pretty much scraps and nothing that interesting unless you need a really cheap desk chair (that looks cheap) or an old file cabinet or something.

http://www.nbc4.com/news/16084628/detail.html?dl=headlineclick

Unrelated but news reports reduced ticket prices for M. Tussaud’s. How long before Newsuem does the same?

but where will the lesbians go to cruise
the steamroom?

The Y is one of the few places with a full-sze pool, and they had great summer programs for kids. I know some folks like WSC and the big clubs, but it’s a shame that we can’t keep a YWCA in the neighborhood.

I’d call that more of a flea bath than a pool.

The YWCA has a long history of serving the community in many ways. Right now, its focus is on training very low income women, many of them ex-offenders, to work in the building trades. This is a really good and successful program, and more directly meets the Y’s mission to empower women and eliminate racism. Running a money-losing fitness center isn’t part of its mission, and the Y board tried for over a decade to make this work despite operating in the red. I live in PQ and have personal knowledge of this situation. I am sorry some of my neighbors feel a need to disparage such a worthy organization. Bottom line: bottom line. This fitness center offered better rates than any other place and even though folks in the neighborhood gave lip service to the importance of keeping it going, they never backed it up by paying and using the facility.