MyRye.com is now in the podcasting business with a weekly podcast hosted by former Rye Mayor Doug French. Available on all major podcasting platforms, MyRye.com Conversations with Doug French will tackle the larger and sometimes intractable issues impacting the City of Rye through interviews with local, county and state officials and business leaders.
In Episode 30 of Season 1, French speaks to Sabrina Murphy, CEO of the Rye YMCA since July 2022 and the first woman to lead the Y in more than 35 years. They cover how the Y approaches health, from loneliness and chronic disease to child care, flood protection and a planned Port Chester site. Listen for a clear picture of what the Y offers and where it is headed.
This episode of MyRye.com Conversations with Doug French was produced by MyRye.com. Feedback and story ideas are welcome.
Main Topics Covered:
- Health beyond fitness: Murphy says belonging and connection matter for spirit, mind and body. Isolation and cost can keep people away, and the Y offers financial aid.
- A redesigned lobby: The Y shrank the staff and welcome desk area to make room for families to sit and connect. Staff also call members who stop coming because of injury or illness.
- Chronic disease programs: Live Strong, created with Brown University, helps cancer survivors return to movement. It is free and open to the community. Sabrina took part after her own breast cancer diagnosis. A diabetes prevention program for people with prediabetes can be funded through Medicare or Medicaid.
- Healthy aging and water safety: Programs include Walk With Ease, Enhance Fitness, chair yoga and balance classes. Water safety lessons are offered to children and to adults who never learned to swim.
- Financial aid: Y Cares has awarded more than $700,000 this calendar year, compared with about half a million for all of last year.
- Child care: Murphy says many centers closed after the pandemic and never reopened. The Y offers full-time care in Rye and at the Westchester Jewish Community Center in Mamaroneck.
- Port Chester expansion: The Y bought the former All Souls Presbyterian Church at 55 Parkway Drive. It plans seven full-time classrooms for 103 children, with 23 full-time staff, from infants through pre-kindergarten. The hope is to open in September 2027.
- Flood protection: After Hurricane Ida, a FEMA grant helped move boilers, hot water tanks and electrical panels to the roof of the Locust Avenue building. The site also uses floodgates and cameras on the brook.
Timestamps:
0:01 – French introduces the podcast and its focus
0:27 – Meet Sabrina Murphy, CEO of the Rye YMCA
0:59 – What gets in the way of healthy living
2:04 – Loneliness and why wellness is more than fitness
3:21 – Redesigning the lobby to build connection
4:47 – Live Strong, diabetes prevention and community health outreach
7:22 – Healthy aging and a multigenerational Y
8:45 – Water safety and first jobs for young people
10:24 – Y Cares financial aid and rising need
11:47 – Child care after the pandemic
12:38 – Community partners and an invitation to visit
14:28 – Where to listen and how to suggest a guest
15:26 – Locust Avenue, Old Post Road studios and growth
16:07 – Port Chester plans: classrooms, children and staff
17:17 – Child care ages, after-school programs and tutoring
18:57 – Target opening: September 2027
19:10 – Flood protection at Locust Avenue after Hurricane Ida
20:42 – Rye’s comprehensive plan and shared community priorities
22:31 – One-word answers: community, pool, scholarship and more
23:04 – Rye and Maine, and the idea of longevity
23:52 – Final thoughts and an open invitation
24:58 – Closing and where to find episodes
Watch:
Full Transcript [edited for clarity]:
Speakers
- MyRye.com, Doug French
- Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
[00:01] MyRye.com, Doug French
Welcome to the MyRye.com podcast, Conversations with Doug French. I’m your host, Doug French, former mayor of the City of Rye. This podcast is about the issues and the people that impact Rye, the Sound Shore, and Lower Westchester. Our goal is to inform you about the issues that matter most to you. What’s happening, why, who’s deciding, and what’s next. All in 30 minutes, we’re here every week live from the
MyRye.com studio. Today in conversation is the Rye Y, what it does for you, and what it can do for you, what it does for the community, and where it goes next. Joining the conversation is Sabrina Murphy, CEO of the Rye YMCA. Sabrina has led the Y since July 2022, the first woman and more than 35 years in Ys
Sabrina, welcome to My Rye dot com.
[00:54] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Thank you, Doug. I’m happy to be here. Happy to talk about this topic.
[00:59] MyRye.com, Doug French
And I really when we talk about the individual, I really like to get into healthy living because that means different things to different people. So just to start the conversation, the Y supports healthy living is as of course, but what is the biggest thing getting in the way of people being and staying healthy right now?
[01:13] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
I think there’s a couple barriers, but one of the barriers is just making sure that it’s more than just a gym to go to, that you feel like you’re going to a place where you belong and where you can address the whole the whole part of who you are, your spirit, mind, and body. there’s so many barriers. People might feel isolated and alone and might not have the connection to walk into to belong to a program or be part of an exercise program. There’s
Financial barriers. The Y tries to make sure to allow everybody to come in that that can’t afford it. We provide financial aid. But really at the core, the Y is trying to address healthy living by offering a sense of belonging and having it be much more than a treadmill or a lap swimming lap in a pool, but just a place to come and belong and be healthy together.
[02:04] MyRye.com, Doug French
That’s great. And i is this just a Sound Shore issue or is it really the same everywhere in terms of the impediments?
[02:10] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
it for sure it’s everywhere. The the YMCA, the national Y of the USA is having its 175th year anniversary this year. And as an organization, we are trying to address loneliness because we believe, and the CDC is saying as well, all the all the data is saying that loneliness and feeling isolated has a tremendously negative impact on your health and well-being. And so
We want to make sure that people feel they belong, that they can they can come to the Y, be part of something, whether it’s an aqua exercise class or a Zumba class or to be a childcare parent that feels they can socialize with another parent, that we know that there’s an increased rate in heart disease if you feel isolated socially, or if you feel some sense of loneliness. So
The wellness, it’s really wellness more than fitness. It’s this whole body wellness where you can be physically active but also feel you belong and feel like you’re working on all asks all aspects of health and well being.
[03:21] MyRye.com, Doug French
that’s great. I you you talk about loneliness. You’ve renovated the lobby to fight isolation. Is that working?
[03:27] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
I believe so, yes, for sure. when I first arrived here, our lobby space with half of the square footage in the space was really designated to the staff and our welcome desk. And so we reimagined it, we shortened that space and made it a bigger space for families. And if you walk in during swim team practice, you will see parents sitting in the chairs, talking to each other, connecting while they’re also watching their child swim.
And if you’re there after an Aqua X class has happened, they come, they sit in a circle, they talk, and sometimes they go out and have lunch afterwards. So the little things like that matter, creating a space for people to connect. it’s part of the greater experience and and I should say we use the word membership, but it’s meant to be a sense of welcoming that you belong. It’s not meant to be exclusionary.
This is why if you struggle with being able to afford it or if you’re just not sure, we want you to belong. We want you to walk in and we are going to know your name. We’re going to welcome you and know your name and know what happened to you that week. And I will say that in the last uh couple months, we’ve had members with injuries or health issues, and the staff call and check on them because they notice they’re missing. That’s the kind of uh
[04:45] MyRye.com, Doug French
That’s great.
[04:45] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
welcoming we want.
[04:47] MyRye.com, Doug French
So when you talk about overall wellness, you also are talking about chronic disease with live strong and the diabetes prevention. Can you explain that a little bit?
[04:55] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Yes,
the Live Strong program is personal to me. the program was created with Brown University and and the Live Strong program itself, and it was an evidence-based wellness program to help cancer survivors get back into movement and activity after going through cancer treatment. And the reason it was important to me is as
We were piloting the program when I was at the YMCA in Maine. I did get diagnosed with breast cancer. And I was piloting the program in a Y and became a participant of the Live Strong program. So I could tell you personally that it helped me. It’s a free program we offer in the community for cancer survivors. It has nothing to do with whether you’re a member or not. We just welcome you during the time you’re in the program. We give you a free membership and we just want to create community activity.
Talk a little bit about nutrition. But when I say evidence-based wellness, when I first started out in the Y, the Y was not in that space. But we are now in a space of providing programs that have outcomes that track the wellness before and after. We have some separate HIPAA compliant programs we use to track the information. And then that evidence-based wellness goes into more advanced programs. We have a diabetes prevention program.
That program is funded. You can take that program and get funded by Medicare or Medicaid. And that is pre-diabetes. And it’s proven to stop the onset of diabetes. you mentioned earlier about the Sound Shore versus Rye. We are the Rye YMCA, but some people do not know that we have a greater service area. Our service area includes it includes Port Chester and Mamaroneck
It includes Harrison, Larchmont, it includes Rye, Rye Brook. There’s a larger service area. And when we look at our community health data and trying to impact improving community health, we have these numbers on the amounts of people that are obese, have diagnosed diabetes, have high blood pressure, and we are trying to address that with our community health team and going outside of our own buildings and
doing outreach in a bilingual way in the community to make sure that we are helping all of our partners create a more healthy community.
[07:22] MyRye.com, Doug French
That’s terrific. And and also another area you talk about healthy aging, right? So it’s it’s not just the high intensity workout at the Y. talk a little bit about that.
[07:31] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
We do programs like walk with ease and enhance fitness. We also do programs like chair yoga. There are things that we do that are specific to a better balance. And we do get there is a New York YMCA alliance that advocates for funding for some of these programs, and we try to make sure that we’re helping our older aging population have a better balance.
Have programs that are more accessible to them and try to get them back to walking more comfortably, doing activities that might be modified if you have arthritis or something that is slowing you down. We want to be there to help all our populations. And it’s my one of my favorite things about the Y is the generational aspect, the multi-generational. You might come in.
in a baby and me swim class and then have child care and then aftercare. And because we’ve been here so long, we have generations, we have older generations bringing in their grandchildren. And so it’s a beautiful history that’s multi-generational that kind of outdates all that we know today.
[08:45] MyRye.com, Doug French
Well it’s terrific. I and I know you have a lot of services that aren’t the same from when I first moved to right?, which is the White House in the front, Rye? And you got the pool. You’re expanding and you’re really tapping into where the trends and the needs are going. So the last one I have though is water safety. That’s on on your agenda as
a need to fill for the individual. Can you talk about that?
[09:04] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Yes, for sure. So there’s so many aspects to water safety. We have programs that really address more of safety around water, the basics of safety around water. We do do swim lessons, but we also do lessons for adults. We’ve had adults come into us that say, I’ve never known how to swim, I live near the water, and we will work with people of all ages and spaces. Some of our programs are real basic water safety.
what to do to make sure that you’re that you’re not putting yourself at risk. And this is another serious issue with youth. We want to make sure that our young know how to be safe around water to prevent any any drowning incidents. so aquatics for us is a lot more than just getting in and swimming laps. And I would also say that all
All of our programs, but the pool is an example. We are teaching young teenagers some some of the jobs we have are the first jobs they might have, to be a lifeguard, to be a swim instructor. So we’re also creating a an early job field for camp counselors, lifeguards, swim instructors, child care employees, and teaching them a path that could be important for them later on in life.
[10:24] MyRye.com, Doug French
Let’s this bridges right into the next block, which is all about the community needs that you’re filling, one of them being employment opportunities workforce
development. but the why is not just about the individual workout. Now, one time did you talk today about sets and reps? It was all about other things of where the value you bring to the individual. Let’s talk about some of the programs you have, such as Y cares for the community.
[10:46] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Sure. Y Cares is really our financial aid program that we provide. And it’s been a big year. It’s been a a banner year for need in the community. We have and our year is on a calendar year. So so far we have awarded more than seven hundred thousand in financial aid to the community. And that’s a big increase. Last year for the whole end of year it was closer to half a million. So it shows you that the need is increasing. it’s
really we’re able to do it because we have support from the community. We cover it through our annual campaign. It’s contributions from the community that help cover that. But it creates, it reduces a barrier, it creates access, and it’s across the board. So we have three categories. The Ys do so much, it’s kind of hard to put it into buckets, but we put it into three buckets. Youth development,
healthy living and social responsibility. And Y Cares really falls into that social responsibility category.
[11:47] MyRye.com, Doug French
If my crack staff got this right you’ve called childcare a desert. Is that correct? Can you explain
[11:52] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
[11:54] MyRye.com, Doug French
that? Yeah.
[11:55] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
I since the pandemic, not just here, but certainly in Westchester County and certainly in our area, but nationally, many child care centers closed and did not reopen. So there’s been a child care desert, meaning not enough child care for working families. And it is a prevalent issue in Westchester County.
we are addressing the child care desert. We have full time child care at the Rye site. We have full time child care right now at the Westchester Jewish Community Center in Mamaroneck. We have been doing programs on and off at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mamaroneck, and we are opening a brand new site in Port Chester.
[12:38] MyRye.com, Doug French
Okay. And so we’ll get to that when we talk about the footprint of the operation. so what other organizations are you tied to across across the Sound Shore here in terms of community involvement and partnerships, those things?
[12:50] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
we are definitely involved in the with the child care council. We’re involved with the local blood drives, we partner with the library, the art center, the nature center in various areas. we partner with a lot of hospitals on wellness programs. We partner with all the schools, all kinds of programs. We are doing recess in some of the local other child care centers.
We are doing physical activity classes at the Osborn Center. So there’s a lot of out outreach.
[13:21] MyRye.com, Doug French
Is there any other community initiative that you want to talk about?
[13:25] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
I think that the biggest community initiative right now, and we’ve been talking about this really at the board level, is just this creating connected communities and addressing belonging and isolation. We feel like it’s just it’s becoming a much more important issue. And that creating care connective communities is it’s a powerful idea and we can be intentional.
We can design our programs to create more connection. there’s a lot that the Y does and I really invite you at any time to visit our website, to come into the Y for a tour, to contact us and feel welcome. I invite you to the website is www ryeymca.org. please feel invited to belong and to come and participate. But
I think overarching, that’s one of our goals, is belonging, addressing the childcare desert needs is a goal, and continuing to work on community health.
[14:28] MyRye.com, Doug French
Okay. I’m gonna just let our audience know. if you have a topic or a person you would like to hear on the MyRye.com podcast, conversations with Doug French, email me at French at MyRye.com dot com or just tell me around town. We’re here
iHeart and
YouTube. You can find those directly on those formats or at MyRye.com for all the transcripts and local news. I just helped a resident the other day. You just go to your iPhone, you got the YouTube icon, you’ve got the Apple icon, you got the Spotify icon, just click on those, search for MyRye.com conversations with Doug French, and the episodes will come up. These local issues travel.
And they do not expire, just like our topic today on healthy living and community impact. so if you like our topic today, please share, subscribe, or send in a question for a past guest, and we’ll bring it back here. Speaking about bringing it back here, Sabrina, welcome back. It’s
let’s now talk about where you are going in terms of your your footprint.
I read something about a Port Chester facility. So just talk about where you’re located now and where you’re going.
[15:38] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
So most of our flagship facility is the one on Locust Avenue. In twenty twenty two we opened additional studios on the old post road in Rye. And in that additional space, we are now doing a hundred and thirty classes a week in that space between yoga and Zumba and high intensity activities and all there’s also a community space to be used there. There’s a lot going on.
And in addition to that, there’s the child care growth. There’s the spaces that we’ve opened up in Mamaroneck And then on top of all of that, we did purchase a new building, which is the former All Souls Presbyterian Church in Port Chester at 55 Parkway Drive. And we are going to be renovating that to provide seven new full time childcare classrooms, and it will serve 103 children.
And there will be 23 new full-time staff. So we do look at workforce development often and what we provide. We provide new employment, but also child care supports working families. So we look at it from both ends. And that building also is going to maintain with the Y, we will maintain a lot of the community relationships that were already there. There’s Food to Grow On is an organization that was there, Five Steps to Five
Although unfortunately they’re a little bit displaced while we’re under construction. When we reopen, it’s a great synergy to work with those organizations. They can work with our families and it it will only enhance them.
[17:17] MyRye.com, Doug French
And when you say childcare, what’s the age range?
[17:19] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
for the first time it will include infants,
I don’t have the exact age of the infant pre care program, but I know our toddlers is about 18 months. So it’ll be younger than that. so we’ll do infants, toddlers, preschool, all the way up to pre-kindergarten age. And the classrooms will be filled. There’ll be seven of them and it’ll depend on the need and the demographics. Sometimes we move our classrooms around based on if there’s more toddlers in needed in a year versus preschool.
there is a growing space in child care. We do do after school programs. We do an afterschool program at Rye Neck. We have after school here at the Locust Avenue facility. And we have a grant-funded program we’re really proud of that’s going to happen at the Mamaroneck Avenue School that will include achievement gap tutoring. So there’s just a lot of space and need for continuing.
the conversation about quality care for children. All the programs we do are curriculum based, but if they’re young, it’s play based and curriculum based.
it’s school ready programs.
[18:26] MyRye.com, Doug French
Okay. So they align with the standards of the New York State, I would imagine.
[18:31] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Yeah,
and I will say that some of our we got quite a few nice letters at the end of the season last season from families whose children went to the kindergarten readiness For kindergarten readiness screening, we have many letters and emails we received from families that said their their children were ready and did really well at the screening coming from the
programs that they did here at the Y.
[18:57] MyRye.com, Doug French
So when do you expect to open the Port Chester facility?
[19:00] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
The hope would be September of twenty twenty seven to align with the school year. we’re we’ve got a whole schedule, a building out schedule, and that’s the hope and plan.
[19:10] MyRye.com, Doug French
And the the current building, how are you dealing with flooding? you moved some equipment to the top. Uh talk about the current
[19:15] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
That is
[19:16] MyRye.com, Doug French
building and how you’re dealing.
[19:17] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
that’s a big, big conversation. So we did we did receive a FEMA grant after after Hurricane Ida, we had significant damage to the Locust Avenue site. We did receive FEMA funding and we put the boilers, the hot water tanks, the electrical panels, everything on the roof. We joke that we have a tiny house on the roof, but that’s what we did to be more floodproof and
I will tell you that FEMA is not an easy process. It takes a long time. so our organization did really put a lot of work and time and cash flow into that. But it’s we’re happy to have that as one step. We also have floodgates. We have cameras on the brook that I am looking at every time it rains. And I never thought I’d spend so much time looking at full moons and tides, but full moons, tides.
inches of rain and flood cameras are part of my life now. but anyway we do have a process in place. So we have floodgates that go on around the building and I know it can be difficult sometimes for our community and our members to have to not be in the building when we put up floodgates, but we take them down as soon as possible and we only do it when we are concerned about the amount of inches of rain in the brook. So that is definitely
a facility issue at the Locust Avenue site.
[20:42] MyRye.com, Doug French
I’ve used this example before, but Senator Gillibrand, when I walked her through Rye could not believe that that little brook created all that damage. But it’s true. So
[20:51] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
It is absolutely true.
[20:53] MyRye.com, Doug French
and so the last comment on the footprint is so the city’s going through its comprehensive plan process. A lot of the themes that you’re touching on help solve for some of those community needs more broadly. How are you tapped into what’s happening in the comprehensive planning process?
[21:10] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
you and I sat together at a library. It’s perfect timing. So the the library is doing strategic planning, the city is doing comprehensive planning. Our YMCA board had a strategic planning retreat on Monday night. I think it’s very it’s very important that we’re all sitting at each each other’s tables so that we all have a similar goal.
And I’m happy to say that I was at all three and it’s very similar. Everybody is worried about parking and flooding for facilities. Everybody is worried about a third space, a space for teens and a space for older adults. We’re all collectively looking at the same issues, and one of my favorite things about this community is that we do work together.
that we talk to each other, that we communicate, that we we’re not in silos, we’re not having separate conversations. We are all we are all connected and speaking about the same topics.
[22:09] MyRye.com, Doug French
And that’s really one of the reasons for this podcast is we only have, one taxpayer, one resident, multiple organizations, and we just need to show the connectivity of where where there’s a fit. and we only have one city planner who can’t be in all places. So the the more that we all get exposed to what’s happening across the community, we enhance and develop the community even even stronger. All right Well,
We’re gonna move to our one word one answer, one question, one answer segment. I’m gonna throw out some words and just give me your reaction.
one word reaction to my one word question.
[22:40] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Okay.
[22:40] MyRye.com, Doug French
So it’s like word association. so the first one is community.
[22:44] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Belonging.
[22:45] MyRye.com, Doug French
Membership.
[22:46] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Belonging.
[22:48] MyRye.com, Doug French
Childcare.
[22:49] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Community.
[22:51] MyRye.com, Doug French
Pool.
[22:52] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Safety.
[22:53] MyRye.com, Doug French
Scholarship.
[22:55] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Access.
[22:56] MyRye.com, Doug French
Aging.
[22:57] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Gracefully.
[22:58] MyRye.com, Doug French
Health.
[23:00] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
For all.
[23:01] MyRye.com, Doug French
And Rye
[23:02] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Community.
[23:04] MyRye.com, Doug French
So you and I have some background, we know Maine quite well. How how would you compare a Rye to some of your past experiences up in Maine?
[23:12] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
I find a lot of similarities. I found even my children who are adult children that came and saw Rye it’s a walkable community. It’s small enough that you know the people in your community. We’re on the water. there’s something special about being near and on the water in my mind, whether it’s on the Sound Shore or on the coast of Maine. But
When I was looking to relocate and looking at other jobs, I had that concept of a blue zone in my mind that I want a YMCA to be, I want a community to be, that that sense of longevity because of healthy living and connectivity. And I feel like Rye this community is that.
[23:52] MyRye.com, Doug French
Yeah, well that that’s terrific. And I do think part of this podcast is to understand the why behind some of the decisions that are being made and you you really brought those forward to in today’s conversation. So it was great to speak with you. Any final thoughts?
[24:04] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
No, I really appreciate this. I was thinking when you told me how many of these you’ve done that someone needs to interview you and see what you’ve learned from all of our interviews. No, my
[24:11] MyRye.com, Doug French
Yeah.
[24:13] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
my final thought again is just an invitation, just to invite anybody to come in and have a conversation and see how we might connect you to our Y community.
[24:26] MyRye.com, Doug French
That’s great. Well again, Sabrina, thank you very much.
[24:28] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Thank you.
[24:29] MyRye.com, Doug French
is there a guess or topic that you’d like to see?
[24:31] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
that’s a great question. I’d like to keep hearing about the the city planning. I know you’ve done that already, but I’d like to keep hearing the updates. I always want to hear the updates on flood mitigation for the greater area. and I love hearing my colleagues. I love that you talk to Nancy and Lisa and some of my colleagues in the community. I appreciate that.
You give us the space to share the good that we’re doing.
[24:58] MyRye.com, Doug French
Absolutely, and we’re getting great feedback. And the knowledge and expertise that all of you bring needs to be displayed. And that’s that’s why we’re doing this. So, again, Sabrina, thank you. And to our listeners, you can find podcast episodes, transcripts, local news, and more at MyRye.com. Please subscribe wherever you get your podcast, and please spread the word as we build our audience. Thank you again for listening to the MyRye.com podcast, Conversations with Doug French. We are here weekly for 30 minutes, and we’ll see you next week. Take care. Bye-bye.
[25:26] Sabrina Murphy, Rye YMCA
Thank you. Bye bye.
