YMCA, member battle over squash court use

A dispute between the YMCA and one of its members over use of the club's squash courts may soon escalate into a legal battle.

Uriel Wittenberg, 43, a member of the Metro Central YMCA in downtown Toronto for the past 18 months, received a letter last week that said if he didn't stop libeling Y management legal action would be taken.

Mr. Wittenberg has accused the club of mismanagement because two of the club's five squash courts were converted for other uses.

"It will not suppress my criticism," said Mr. Wittenberg, a writer/consultant.

"It does not make sense that an institution with the values of the YMCA would engage in this type of behaviour," he said.

The dispute stems back to a 70-member petition initiated by Mr. Wittenberg and presented to YMCA management in March, asking that the two courts be returned for exclusive squash use.

He says the racquetball courts are under-utilized and the club's management should be using them, instead.

The YMCA responded to the petition by giving up the court that was used for golf lessons, but have retained the other one for cycle fit, a compromise that is unacceptable to Mr. Wittenberg.

Lesley Davidson, general manager of the Metro Central YMCA, says her club has responded to Mr. Wittenberg complaint by adding one squash court.

"The majority of the squash players are happy with the arrangement," she said.

Each year, the YMCA re-evaluates existing programs and does its best to accommodate members' requests, Ms. Davidson said.

"We have 13,000 members. It's natural that most people would like more space for their activities," she said.

Ms. Davidson said the Y also went through a dispute resolution process with Mr. Wittenberg, but he wasn't satisfied.

Mr. Wittenberg said Ms. Davidson didn't explain to him why she didn't free up the other court for squash.

He wrote letters to one of the organization's executives and a financial contributor accusing management of breaking the "ideals and values of the YMCA, squandering funds, lying and dishonesty."

It was because of this correspondence that the Y has threatened him with a libel suit.

Ms. Davidson would not comment on the legal matter, but the letter from the YMCA's lawyer to Mr. Wittenberg clearly shows the organization has run out of patience.

"It is one thing to have differences of opinion, it is another to engage in character assassination. The purpose of this letter is to tell you to stop engaging in such libelous rhetoric," said the letter from Julian Porter, the YMCA's lawyer.

"If you persist, the court in any future action will be informed of the contents of this with prejudice letter, which will serve to increase damages," Mr. Porter wrote.