New York Sports Club — Local services in New York

unsafe, unsanitary, unmaintained

Here's the email I wrote to the "customer service" address listed on the locker room walls. It was not answered, though this shouldn't be a surprise, considering the quality of the facility:

The majority of people in NY go to a gym based simply on the fact that it's convenient to where they live. When I moved a few blocks east last year, I switched from the Planet Fitness up on Broadway to this NYSC. As the monthly fee is more than 3 times what Planet Fitness charges, I expected that the quality would also be somewhat higher. Instead, the opposite has been the case.

This gym is unmaintained, unsafe, and unsanitary.

unmaintained: roughly 30% of the lockers in men's room are non-functioning. Some are completely off the hinges, and some are missing doors entirely. I train on the first floor and upstairs, and on both levels, multiple machines are either missing the hand grips, missing the weight pins, or just out of order, Right now, there are 3 ellipticals in a row on the second floor which are all unusable. One doesn't turn on and the other two don't change the degree of incline. The televisions don't work on the majority of the ellipticals (I don't know about the treadmills, because I only train on the ellipticals, but I assume it is not much better). The stairs leading up to the second floor regularly have visible piles of dust on them.

Additionally, the second floor has been extremely hot for around 2 months now. There were signs put up that this would be "rectified" soon, but gradually the signs just disappeared, and nothing has been done. It is easily 80 degrees up there, and I wonder if it will be completely unbearable when the weather gets hotter. Also, one shower in the men's room is non-functional because it's had no handle since early this year, and another has a drain which does not clear, so after a few minutes you are standing in inches of sewer water.

unsafe: I have had money taken from a locker TWICE. Both times, I had a functioning lock on the locker. The first time, I lost $100, and after that, I haven't really left much cash in the locker. A few weeks ago, though, I did have about $5 in singles in a jeans pocket, and they were gone when I returned after training. I reported the first incident to the worker at the front desk; she basically just shrugged. Having a sign saying the gym isn't responsible for lost material may be legally all that is required to absolve you of responsibility, but it certainly seems like a neglecting of a pretty basic element of the customer/provider relationship. I have also seen two other people in the locker room talking to staff members in the aftermath of finding out that they had had something taken from their lockers.

unsanitary: Besides the shower that backs up, the locker room regularly has overflowing towel bins, towels left on the floor, and unclean showers. Surely some of this falls on the users - I've trained at a dozen gyms around the world and I've never seen a gym where users cared less about keeping things clean. But it is also at least somewhat the responsibility of the workers to be more diligent in cleaning and promoting an environment where people realize they can't just leave dirty towels pretty much everywhere. Tonight I finally decided to write, because I actually saw human excrement in a shower stall. I would have taken a photo, but I didn't have my phone with me in...

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE COMPLAINT

NYSC 145th is the best NYSC in Manhattan. I have been going to this gym since I moved to NYC Jan 2023. The 145th gym set the bar for me that many of the other locations can't compete with, especially when it comes to the very personal nature that many people have with the clients who come through that door. Over the past couple years, I have had to absolute pleasure of building a relationship with these people. Not only have they helped me grow physically but even mentally in so many ways, EXCEPTIONAL customer service (Steph, Kim, Katie, Jesus, Carlos, the list goes on). I even bought the membership and have gone around to the other locations around Manhattan, 145th stays the best for the sole purpose of the staff and equipment. A role model for the perfect club.

This gym would receive a 5 star BUT,

What truly breaks my heart is that today, while checking in and talking with one of the managers, this woman (who I have not seen before) walks behind the front desk and begins to start typing on the computer. Without saying a word to the manager who was talking with me. Manager had to ask who she was, to which the lady did not respond. Manager had to ask a second time for the woman's name, to which the woman said (Alicia). Alicia did not ask for the name of the manager, I was talking to, did not extend any pleasantries, nothing. Later on I saw that the woman was teaching a class (she is an instructor for the yoga classes on Saturday).

Maybe she was having a bad day, does not justify the behavior that she showed towards a MANAGER, who is just trying to figure out who she is in relation to the company since she walked behind the desk unannounced. I thought the woman was a member at the gym, I was shocked to see her walk behind the desk as well.

If this is how she interacts with one of the managers at the location, it frightens me to think how she would talk and behave around the guests. With summer in full swing, I have seen an increased number of people at the gym, which is great! Sales have definitely been rising and I know it has all to do with the supportive staff. HOWEVER, something needs to be done about the instructor who demonstrated such immature behavior towards not only her coworker, but her manager. If not, they could see a decrease in sales because of this singular instructor. Saturday classes are popular, good time to bring in the best of the best to show face at the gym and give people a great interaction. Needless to say, I will NOT be taking...

SERIOUS LIFTERS, STEER CLEAR IF YOU CAN HELP IT!

I'll start by saying that I was really looking forward to moving to this gym, as I happen to live in the exact worst spot for a decent gym around, being 30 blocks away from the Blinks at 125th and 179th. Now, the good: The staff is friendly, there are 2 squat racks, there is a deadlift platform, there is a hex bar (!!)

The bad: The squat racks are the old models that have big spacing between notches, so the bar usually ends too high or too low, the bars are very poor quality and all but 2 are bent, the deadlift platform is incorrectly installed and has a 2" deficit, there are relatively few plates and if there is someone quarter-leg-pressing and you have to squat or bench, you will have to hunt around for 45s.

Also, the (lack of) manners of most members is pretty appalling; leaving plates on the bar and laying around is the norm. I even tried asking one guy if he would please clear the bar after he was done, he just said "nah" and walked away. There hasn't been a single day where I haven't seen other members leaving loaded bars and leaving. Once I had to take off 405 off the bar that someone had used for deadlifting and just left it there.

Sadly, I am stuck with this place because all the other gyms that have the basics are way too far, but if you have a Blink anywhere near you, do not hesitate to go to that, even if you have to walk a bit more. They are miles away quality-wise, their equipment is new and in great condition, AND they are cheaper! For less than what I'm paying now for a single-site membership I had an open pass to any gym AND I could bring a friend anytime on Blink.

Edit: updating this to remove one star, as now we have even less bars, to a point where you can be lucky enough to get a bench, but no bar -- there are less bars than benches. Furthermore, 5 months later there is still no fix to the deadlift platform. Very poor management and overall experience. Come summer I'll go back to commuting to Blink because this gym is just horrible!...