Glen Cove YMCA renews lease

The YMCA of Long Island has reached a deal that will keep its Glen Cove location open until early 2018 but does not resolve disagreements with the site's landowner.

The Glen Cove Y's lease with the nonprofit Neighborhood Association was set to expire Dec. 31, leading members to fear it would close and leave about 6,000 members in the lurch.

The 21/2-year term of the lease extension is half the minimum 5 years the YMCA had wanted but more than the 11/2 the Neighborhood Association had proposed. Terms were not disclosed.

YMCA officials have said they want a long-term lease so the Y can proceed with $1.5 million in renovations in Glen Cove, knowing they would manage the site.

Anne Brigis, president and chief executive of the YMCA of Long Island, and Long Island Y chairwoman Linda Armyn did not return phone calls for comment.

Armyn said in a statement released Friday that "we are pleased to have reached an agreement with the Neighborhood Association" and "look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue as we move forward to reaching a long-term solution."

Neighborhood Association board president Nicholas L. Martone confirmed the lease extension in an email but did not return phone calls to discuss it.

Tension between the Y and Neighborhood Association, and among the Long Island Y and some of its Glen Cove members and supporters, has simmered for months. In February, the Long Island Y temporarily disbanded its Glen Cove advisory committee days after 13 of the 20 committee members expressed concern over the Long Island Y's leadership, including that the central Long Island Y office was usurping local control.

Y officials said the dismissals were because board members did not support the Y in negotiations with the Neighborhood Association.