Local News in Brief : Face Lift for Crenshaw Y

The YMCA in the Crenshaw area will have new doors, new floors and showers that work, thanks to donations promised by exhibitors at the home remodeling show being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend.

Under the direction of a newly formed Home Restoration and Remodeling Show Foundation, which was announced Thursday by City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, about 1,200 exhibitors at remodeling shows staged around the country each year will donate paint, supplies and other services to repair buildings serving the homeless in Los Angeles.

But the YMCA on Santa Rosalia Avenue, which serves 245 youths a day and not homeless people, was chosen as the first recipient, at Galanter’s request.

“The YMCA provides a desperately needed alternative to street gangs for the young people,” the councilwoman said.

Reuben Davis, executive director of the Crenshaw Y, said he appealed to Galanter for help several months ago to locate about $200,000 to fix up the 36-year-old facility. “We’d been trying to raise money but had not been successful,” he said. “The floors need tiling, the window frames are all rotted out, we need a new roof, the doors are warped and the lighting fixtures don’t work.”