UPTOWN CULTURE HEADS DOWNTOWN

New York"s cultural competitiveness is incessant. Audiences demand vitality, inventiveness and magnetism in their arts programming, and an institution"s value is continually, mercilessly re-evaluated. The new 92YTribeca certainly knows what it"s up against. The younger, hipper sister to 92nd Street"s seasoned community center opens its doors on Oct. 18, and hopes to establish itself as a downtown arts and entertainment staple's inclusive and all encompassing. Aimed specifically at the twenty-something crowd, the venue"s multiplicity is its selling point. The site features a bar and music stage, a 72-seat screening room, a lecture hall, art gallery and cafÃ&Copy;, all of which will compete for the attentions of New York"s cultural carnivores. Helaine Geismar Katz, associate executive director at 92Y, likens the new site to a laboratory: it synthesizes innovations like a new comedy program, a dance improv series and 92Y"s foray into the restaurant business with eclectic programming spanning film, music, visual arts and education. â??We want to always ensure that the 92nd Street Y does the best in every single area that it"s in, she said. â??We want to make sure that our health club is as good as any of the Equinoxes or New York Sports Clubs. Our competition is not another community center necessarily, although it could be, but we make sure that in our 37 businesses, we are as good in each one of them as the single purpose competition in that area. New York real estate happens to be a relentlessly competitive world in itself, and the choice of location for the new 92Y's a multimillion-dollar space at 200 Hudson St.'s was of particular importance for the project, in development since 2006. Geismar Katz recalls how in the last decade, the city"s cultural epicenter has drifted south, due in part to the masses of young New Yorkers being more widely distributed over the city"s five boroughs. â??We really thought that Downtown was becoming the new Midtown, she said. Although location will be integral to 92YTribeca"s success, the venue"s cultural calendar will ultimately serve as its principal point of attraction. Rachel Chanoff, one of the site"s chief programmers, explained how the main premise of the space was to provide an openly communal, one-stop-shop arts venue, where participants can enjoy creativity, dialogue and blueberry lemonade. â??It"s not just a venue where you buy a ticket, sit in a seat and go away's you can do that anywhere in the city, she said. â??We really have crafted this to be a place where you come and see someone"s work, show your own work and talk about it afterward. It"s going to be a real incubator I think, more than just a venue for entertainment. The site"s initial showcase, â??18 Nights of Inspiration, includes an opening night concert with folkster John Vanderslice, film screenings and Q&A sessions with Lou Reed and Beastie-Boy-cum-filmmaker Adam Yauch, an eight-part â??Byte Me: Inside Digital Gaming series, as well as appearances by comedians Zach Galifianakis and Eugene Mirman. The center"s programming will also be heavily influenced by current affairs, with the election serving as the first major theme. â??We want to keep it very, very topical, said Chanoff. There"ll be a special screening of a Lil" Bush episode, (the animated comedy series chronicling â??the playground days of W and chums), as well as considerably more highbrow politically themed events, like a screening of Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker"s new documentary, Return to the War Room. â??I think the challenge for us is staying as cutting edge as we can, said 92YTribeca"s Acting Director, Naomi Lopin. And whether it"s regarding new bands, documentaries or video games, she says her staff has its fingers on the pulse of all arts phenomena, which will allow the site to continually spawn new programming ideas's in tune with a demographic constantly spoilt for choice. A proudly Jewish institution, the 92Y has also incorporated Judaism-related programming since its inception in 1874. The Tribeca site will continue that trend with events like the â??Hip-Hop Shabbat, which features a discussion with Hot 97"s Peter Rosenberg, the first Jewish DJ in the history of New York"s rap broadcasting. Other prominent Jewish personalities will also speak about their individual industries and Judaism, with sport, food and history-themed events scheduled in the upcoming months. â??It"s certainly a piece that"s core to the institution as a whole, said Geismar Katz, also emphasizing that 92Y has always focused on serving the entire community, regardless of ethnic, socio-economic or religious status. â??We take that extremely seriously, she said. â??And we have shown it for 134 years of life here.