Peter Tercyak

State Senator Rick Lopes, State Rep. Robert Sanchez, State Rep. Manny Sanchez, and State Rep. Peter Tercyak, members of the New Britain legislative delegation, welcomed the approval by Governor Ned Lamont and the State Bond Commission of over $1 million for improvements to the New Britain-Berlin YMCA’s facility on High Street in New Britain. The planned energy efficient window replacement and air conditioning upgrades would support health safety, the ability for youth and adults to utilize the facility, and cost-savings on gas and electricity for the YMCA.

“The YMCA is an essential resource for people of all ages, especially kids, in our area. I’m thankful to Governor Lamont and the members of the State Bond Commission for recognizing how these upgrades to the Y’s facility would allow YMCA to save on energy costs and direct those savings into supporting their work,” said Sen. Lopes. “Also, I want to recognize CEO John Benigni, Executive Director Marci Moskal and all the staff at the YMCA for advocating for this funding and the countless hours of activities and services they provide year-round to children and their families.”

“At the Y we focus on empowering young people, improving health and well-being for all, and inspiring action in our communities. The savings from this project will allow the Meriden-New Britain-Berlin YMCA to change more lives and continue to not turn anyone away for inability to pay,” said John Benigni, CEO, Meriden-New-Britain-Berlin YMCA.

“We work every day to make a positive impact in the lives of our community members. Now we can take even better care of our members and do more for our community. Thank you for helping us make a difference,” said Marci Moskal, Branch Executive Director, New Britain and Berlin YMCAs.

“The YMCA is such an important part of our community. Thank you to the State Bond Commission and Governor Lamont for making this investment to provide necessary improvements to the New Britain Y,” said Rep. Tercyak.

“For many years, the New Britain-Berlin YMCA has provided much-needed services to young people and families in the region, and by partnering with the organization to ensure that their facilities remain in a good-state-of-repair, we can help make sure that they can continue providing these services for many years to come,” Governor Lamont said.

The energy efficient window replacement and improvements to the air conditioning would both enhance the quality of the facility and ability for people to utilize programs offered by the YMCA.

The YMCA’s New Britain location on High Street provides children and families numerous recreational services including basketball, fitness classes, swimming, and racquetball and child care programs for preschool and school age children. However, the facility has windows that are broken or don’t stay closed. This has at-times caused basketball and volleyball players having to come to play wearing multiple-layers and for children to wear winter jackets in the gymnasium during the winter season due to it feeling as cold inside as it is outside.

Further, the air quality upgrades would help residents in the YMCA’s Hart House Member-In-Residence program experiencing health conditions, such as asthma and heart disease. Also, the upgraded air conditioning and fixing of windows would lead to cost savings on heating during the winter and running controlled air through the residency during the summer.

The Hart House Member-In-Residence program, located at the High Street facility, provides a safe and affordable housing environment to adult men in need. The drug and alcohol-free environment is conveniently located to grocery, pharmacy, and public transit locations. One former resident offered in a testimonial, “…amazing how a safe, healthy place can help clear a person’s head and help them move past mistakes and make better life decisions.”