FOUNDERS

In 1953 a group of residents from the newly built Deepdale Gardens came together, united by a common purpose, to enhance the quality of life for families in their neighborhood. They dreamed of a place where their children could go for after-school activities, attend a summer day camp and which provided an after-school meeting place for teenagers. It was to be a place for sports, recreation, education and social activities.

On November 8, 1954, their dream, the Deepdale Gardens Community Center, in partnership with the Jewish Association for Neighborhood Centers (JANC) of New York, officially opened in four basement rooms of the Deepdale Gardens Cooperative Apartments.

They outgrew this space very quickly and began running programs at multiple sites in the neighborhood, including P.S. 187 and J.H.S. 67. In March 1955 they changed their name to the North Hills YM-YWHA, and JANC purchased a 40,000 square foot parcel of land on Little Neck Parkway between 60th and 58th Avenues for $68,000 to build the “first unit of a modern building for the North Hills Y”.

In 1962 Samuel Field, President of Hartman-Homecrest, (formerly the Hebrew National Orphan Home) oversaw the merger of Hartman-Homecrest with JCCA (formerly known as the Jewish Child Care Association). Mr. Field chose the North Hills YM-YWHA to be the recipient of a substantial fund that became available from this merger and together with the help of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, Samuel and Helen Field, Jack and Sue Mintz, and other supporters created a building fund to realize the community’s dream. The new community center would be known as the Samuel Field YM-YWHA.

The groundbreaking ceremony to erect the $756,000 building was held on Sunday, November 11, 1962. The Samuel Field YM-YWHA officially opened its doors on Sunday, December 6, 1964, at 2:00 pm.

We are now called Commonpoint Queens and have grown to become one of the most trusted social service agencies and community centers in all of New York City. We look forward to a future of enhancing the quality of individual, family and communal life through service to people of all ages, ability levels, stages of life and backgrounds.

Throughout our history, from the Deepdale Gardens YM-YWHA to the North Hills YM-YWHA to the Samuel Field Y and now as Commonpoint Queens, we have remained committed to our original mission of enhancing and maintaining the quality of family and community life in Queens. Through our diverse, ever-evolving array of programs and services, we stand ready to continue to live up to our reputation: a place where everyone can feel safe, valued, cared for and enjoy a variety of activities including classes for all ages, special events, nursery and after-school, special needs programs, health and wellness, and summer camp.