Chinatown YMCA records

The growth of the Chinatown branch of the YMCA of Greater New York was incremental. In 1946, six Chinese-American men met with YMCA leadership to request a YMCA branch in New York City's Chinatown. They emphasized that the branch was not for them, as they were already established in life, but for the youth and young people of the densely populated neighborhood in lower Manhattan.

Not much happened until 1973, when the McBurney Branch of the YMCA established an outreach program for the Chinatown neighborhood that operated from 3 Henry Street. In 1974, the success of the first efforts allowed the Y to expand the program and involve community leaders. In 1976, the program became an official extension of the McBurney branch, known as the Chinatown Project. By 1983, Chinatown had become a "major service unit" rather than a McBurney extension. By 1986, Chinatown had secured its own official YMCA branch, located at 100 Hester Street.

By 2017, the Chinatown Branch had expanded, providing programs in four locations in the neighborhood: 273 Bowery, where the branch operated a state-of-the-art fitness facility; 100 Hester Street, home to programs serving families and New Americans; 286 South Street, an outreach program to the Two Bridges public housing development; and the COMPASS program at PS 126, which provided school and after-school services.