JCC MetroWest has told members that it will continue to operate its athletic facilities in Whippany at least through the end of 2007.

The assurance was contained in a letter sent to update members on the fate of the Lautenberg Family JCC. Earlier this year, JCC MetroWest informed members of a "financial crisis" and said it planned to vacate the athletic facility in the Whippany facility and that UJC MetroWest is seeking an outside fitness provider to lease it.

The agency continues to operate its recently renovated facility in West Orange.

"JCC MetroWest will continue to operate the Lautenberg Family JCC and will provide group exercise classes, recreation, and aquatics programs through the end of the year," said the Oct. 3 letter sent to members. It was signed by executive director Michael Hopkins and board of trustees chair Dolly Luwisch.

Further updates are expected "in the coming weeks," according to the letter.

In interviews, JCC officials could provide no further details than were contained in the letter.

What happens after Dec. 31 "has yet to be determined," said JCC MetroWest marketing director Catherine Kolbeck.

JCC MetroWest is a beneficiary agency of UJC MetroWest but is operated independently of the fund-raising umbrella.

The letter also reasserted that the JCC's Francis and Herb Brody Early Childhood Center will remain in place on the Whippany campus through the 2007-08 academic year.

"Currently, we are investigating alternate locations in the Morris County community to relocate Early Childhood," said the letter.

Keeping the day care center and preschool at the Whippany location nevertheless remains a possibility, according to Kolbeck.

For parent Sara M. Sabatino of Hanover Township, it's the only option. She wrote and circulated a petition urging officials to keep the Brody center open and in Whippany. After two days, she had collected four pages, about 70 signatures. On Oct. 30, while still gathering signatures, she delivered copies of the petition to UJC MetroWest executive vice president Max Kleinman and president Ken Heyman and JCC MetroWest president Dolly Luwisch and executive director Michael Hopkins.

"It is not just the children who benefit from the Brody Center at the Whippany JCC," the letter states. "Our entire families have found a Jewish community here that we have not found anywhere else."

In an interview with NJJN, Sabatino — who has two children, ages two and four, at the Brody Center — said, "We feel very much in the dark about what is happening. It's been this way since last May" — when the possibility that the Brody center might move or close was first announced. "It's a struggle to feel really good about where you're sending your children when you don't know what will happen next year. We all really want this to stay open. If it's just about money, can't they just take a portion of the money raised to keep it here?"

In response to the petition, Hopkins said, "We're committed to early childhood families, and we're in discussion with UJC around the future of this campus.

Kleinman acknowledged receiving the petition and through a spokesperson said discussions with the JCC continue.

Regarding the future of the fitness center at the Whippany site, Kolbeck said, "We hope to have more information as soon as possible."