Board members praised the two institutions, saying that either one could create a great facility, but the 92nd Street Y got the edge largely for its impressive track record organizing high-caliber cultural programs alongside recreational activities.

The 92nd Street Y has said that it envisions a $100 million to $200 million facility with up to 300,000 square feet.

The organization says it will now launch a yearlong, $1 million study of what Downtowners need and want from a center, along with an ambitious fundraising campaign. The Y will also work with CB1 to find a site for the project, which will probably take at least several years to develop.

“Bringing the vitality and variety of the 92nd Street Y to lower Manhattan is an opportunity our Board and staff wholeheartedly embrace,” the Y said in a statement the day after the vote.

The community board’s action endorsed the recommendation of its executive committee, which two weeks earlier had voted, 8-4, for the 92nd Street Y after agonizing over the decision for months.

Both Ys had submitted written proposals and made several presentations to the committee.

At the full board meeting, Paul Custer, vice president of operations for the YMCA, and Sol Adler, executive director of the 92nd Street Y, spoke briefly about their hopes to establish a Downtown presence. Board members then engaged in a contentious, 90-minute discussion about the relative merits of the two groups, with the executives looking on.

Bruce Ehrmann, who voted for the 92nd Street Y, said that Downtown badly needs a “world-class cultural institution” offering a wide range of lectures and arts programs.

Paul Hovitz said that he had been aware of the 92nd Street Y’s strong cultural programming, but was swayed in its favor after discovering the broad scope of its other offerings.

Other board members, though, said that the YMCA, with its experience opening branches around the city and its strong recreational and kids’ programs, would better serve Downtown’s needs.

Still others questioned whether the board should even favor one organization over the other, contributing to the relatively large number of abstentions.

CB1 hopes that the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which is overseeing redevelopment on and around the World Trade Center site, will provide a major chunk of funding for a new community center.

“Obviously we’re disappointed,” Custer said several days after the vote. But he said that the YMCA “will continue to explore how we can serve people Downtown and what the right plan is for the expansion of our program.”

The YMCA had been seeking to create a Downtown branch before CB1 requested proposals for a community center last summer, and has submitted its own funding application to the LMDC.

Paul Custer, left, VP of operations for the YMCA of Greater New York, and Sol Adler, executive director of the 92nd Street Y, addressing CB1 on Feb. 25.