The Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center of Monmouth County in Ocean Township, NJ, closed its fitness area and the two gyms at the facility due to insufficient funds to operate the facility. Last December, the center was forced to close its playschool before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Operating on memberships and donations from community members, the 110,000-square-foot Ruth Hyman JCC has evaded three Monmouth County Sheriff's sales after TD Bank initiated foreclosure on the facility in spring 2011. Currently, only the Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore day school and the Axelrod Performing Arts Center remain open. The Yeshiva school will remain open until at least June, while the Axelrod Theater will continue its programming with a children’s production in May.
Keith Krivitky, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County, told Club Industry in February that the problem the center faced could not be solved by money alone. He had offered the Federation's support to the facility after the initial sheriff's sale, and he had planned to develop a better business model to continue operations.
The Deal Sephardic Network also offered its assistance in the negotiations with the JCC. Jeffrey Saka, president of the network’s board of directors, told New Jersey Jewish News back in February that the process of negotiations is slow but it would continue.
Ian White, Jewish Federation of Monmouth County director of marketing and communications, had no additional news regarding the debt negotiations when contacted today.