New York Sports Clubs

Classes are always full (really hard to make reservation) and usually overbooked. Not worth it!

Well, since they closed the 86^th Street location months ago, we are all stuck cramming into this tiny space. It’s always SO crowded and there are NEVER towels. Also, the mat space is extremely limited. The layout is confusing and frustrating. Some of the cardio machines don’t have TVs.
The ONE thing they’ve improved on is that most of the cardio machines are usually working.
I love the gym and look forward to it every day; unfortunately, going to this location makes me less excited because I know I what I’ll be up against.

Not sure if this gym has given up or has just never cared. Weights are never put back, no one who works there seems to care and the personal trainers skeeve me out. I’m pretty sure that uxf area has never been shampoo’d and bubbles up creating a tripping hazard. The cardio machine tvs are almost always not functioning. I just wish they would put a little more effort in. All of these pictures were taken on the same day. This is typical.

So crowded during rush hour, can’t get on WIFI, constantly lack of towels, men’s locker small and dirty. The only good thing is open until late.

The cross fit area is messy and disorganized, and the spinning studio is typically a tad warm. Other than that, it is a good bang for your buck gym.

This is by far the dirtiest NYSC gym on the east side of Manhattan. I have been to five other NYSC gyms in the city using my Passport membership that are better maintained and cleaner. I think the primary issue is the dim lighting… The lack of light makes the gym appear dingy and less spacious.
The locker rooms in this gym are disgusting and need to be updated. The mats in the stretching area are dirty and too small for the size of the gym, and there are not enough foam rollers, stretch bands, or exercise balls. The free weight area on the lower level is always congested.
Hopefully this gym will get a much needed face lift once it has to compete with the Equinox opening across the street. If I knew how to contact Corporate directly I would definitely send them this feedback.

This location of NYSC looks very depressive and dirty. First time when I signed membership and came to this location guy at the reception was so incredibly busy with his stuff so he even didn’t say Hi and didn’t suggest me to ask some question or provide any help. I searched locker room for my own and other stuff either.
The other days stuff were the same: nobody care at the reception desk about members of this club.
Gym all time is super crowded!

I’ve asked for two months now about fixing the tv’s and audio on the bicycles and ellipticals and nothing has been done. Every time I ask I’m told repair people are coming that week or the next day, to no avail. Only one bike on the main floor has a tv with audio that works. One has been stuck on MSNBC for two months; two have audio that don’t work; one tv isn’t bolted properly to the floor so it shakes back and forth as you pedal. How hard is it to replace a bolt in two months? Same deal for two out of the four ellipticals on the main floor. I come at 10pm to avoid the crazy crowds from 5:30 to 8 and still can’t get a piece of equipment with a tv that works.

I’m happy here again! I guess the decreased stars here on Unilocal have kept some people away… or perhaps I just go to this gym at a good time when it’s not over-​packed. My only complaint now about this location is that there seems to be frequent «we are low on towels» issues. Bravo switching to thicker towels! Now just get tiny ones for work outs… This location has a pool which means showers are a must here. I would also love this location more if it had firmer pads that are on the floors in the stretching areas so I don’t have to use an extra mat. How I would love it if they got the same toiletries at the neighbor 76^th location… over there they have this spa collection toiletries which is so much better than the standard stuff.

This place is a shithole and a half. It’s too small there is always a wait for a machine, there are 6 eliptical machines and mainly all treadmills. The locker rooms are gross and the equipment is outdated. Not that 86 St was that nice but at least there wasn’t much of a wait for machines. This gym deserves to get pummeled and re done. It’s unfortunate that people who run this club are complete idiots and the upper mgmt of Town Sports are aloof. If you can join Equinox or Crunch.

This location is so unfortunate…
So much smaller than the 86^th location it’s supposed to help replace. Can rarely find a treadmill, and the classes are usually overbooked. Wifi barely works too, and the sauna/​steamrool/​changing rooms just feel disgusting. maybe because they’re basically underground?
I come here with the roommate out of necessity sometimes now that it’s the closest gym to where we live, but… boy does it pale in comparison to some of the other locations.

I don’t think any gym is perfect, but i generally think this one is pretty well appointed and a good size to prevent over crowding. The one knock against this location is that the weights are always a mess/​never racked properly or in the right order.
March 2016 update: the NYSC down the road recently closed and sent everyone here… This place is just inundated and a mess all the time. Gonna start looking for a new place.

Thanks so much for closing the 86^th street gym. This is my closest gym and used to be great. Now I’ve been avoiding it like the plague. So over crowded.
It’s a great gym if you just want to wander the floor with nothing to do because everything is being used.

Update: After using this gym for two months, I have cancelled my membership. I like going to the gym generally, but I quickly began to dread this place. It’s way too crowded, with no solution in sight. That problem pretty much ruins everything. It makes the gym less clean and makes all the amenities less available. Memo to NY Sports: Open more gyms in this area, or do something about crowding at this gym.
Earlier review:
I am impressed by a number of this gym’s offerings, but I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this place. A gym should be a place to relax at the end of the day, not yet another source of noise and chaos.
* First, the good stuff. It’s a large facility, on two levels, with countless machines to meet every need. The lower level is a sea of weightlifting equipment, and the people who use it seem quite serious about what they are doing. The cardio machines seem up-​to-​date and offer a lot of variety.
They have exercise classes, spinning, etc.
There are small hand weights, foam rollers, mats etc. in every nook and cranny, so no matter where you are in the gym, you can access them for stretching and exercises.
There is no limit on how many towels you can take.
There is also a small pool, about typical in size for a pool in Manhattan. It’s long enough to do laps if you are not Michael Phelps.
* Now the problems. First the crowds. I do not agree with reviewers who say they have never had to wait for a machine. I have had to wait for something almost every time I have gone.
And not just weight or cardio machines. I have had to wait for floor space just to stretch! Finding an open spot can be like hoping for a seat on the subway. I had to a ask someone once, «Are you done with that?» meaning the small area of floor she had just vacated. I recently saw someone get up to get a different size hand weight and, in the minute she had left, her space on the floor was taken. She shrugged and went off to look for another. Working out at this gym requires a Buddha-​like serenity in the face of irritating surprises.
I cannot find a quiet time to come to the gym. If I take out time during the day to come, it is crowded. If I come after work, it is insanely crowded.
* The high usage of the gym results in many surfaces being sweaty, smelly and sticky. This is especially true for the downstairs weight room and for many machines upstairs. I try wiping things down and using work out gloves, but it’s not enough.
There are moist wipes dispensers everywhere, but they are often empty. Maybe everyone else at this gym is desperately wiping things down too because the staff doesn’t seem to be able to refill the dispensers fast enough. If you are fine with sweaty, old-​school gyms (e.g. Rocky, The Fighter, or whatever your favorite boxing movie is) the place may feel like a country club. But if you like really well-​kept, modern gyms, it falls far short. A general sprucing up and more thorough regular cleaning and disinfecting is needed.
* The men’s locker room is the pits (even after a recent «renovation» that is barely detectable). It has the essentials, and some perks — hair dryer, swimming trunk dryer. But I recently overheard someone say, «This is one step up from a prison gym.» An exaggeration, but still, it’s not good. The floor is always sticky. Though there are fresh towels all over the rest of the gym, there are usually none available in the locker room where they are needed. There is, however, often a huge, disgusting bin of used towels. There are often no paper towels near the sink.
* The pool isn’t bad but it’s hard to find time a good time to use it. In the evening it is really crowded. The lanes aren’t wide enough for comfortable sharing, but people share anyway, with awkward and jarring results. Trying to swim during off-​peak hours is difficult. There are too many hours set aside for kids’ swim classes or coached swimming, not enough for simple lap swim.
If this gym were cleaner and had far fewer members, it would be fantastic. Instead, my experiences have ranged from okay to absolutely awful.

Agree with everyone who said this was a decent branch until they closed the 86^th Street location. The only good news is that after a petition drive they moved the 2:30 Saturday Zumba class taught by Mami Hasegawa here. If the class weren’t here I’d never come back as I no longer swim. The layout is weird and the equipment is in terrible shape. This was bearable until it became hellaciously overcrowded this January. Even the wifi sucks.

This gym is TERRIBLE now that 86 street has closed. It is packed, the classes fill up and you have to stand around waiting to use machines/​treadmills adding time to work outs because they don’t have enough space to accommodate the population on the upper east side. Their trainer Tony is also a royal pain and borders on harassment constantly following people around asking if they want personal training when they come into the gym. Once I finally denied him he was completely rude to me and I now feel awkward any time I see him at the gym. Tony aside, their trainers are generally leeches and I cannot get through a work out without someone bothering me. Sorry, I do not want to pay $ 99 782 347 982 374 for personal training. Terrible, terrible gym. STAY AWAY.

I’ve been coming to this gym on a somewhat regular basis for 4 years now. Overall, it’s a very middle of the road gym. It is a good value if you can enroll with no introductory fee and a reasonable monthly rate. They have made moderate improvements to the facility over the years including most recently renovating the floor in the locker rooms and replacing what had been some very old free weights. The staff is generally friendly and the facility is pretty well maintained. The opening hours are generous during both the weekday and weekend.
The first floor has a good number of cardio machines including treadmills, bikes, ellipticals and stair masters. They recently added a row of additional treadmills as well. Each machine has a personal tv, but very often they do not work properly so make sure to check it before starting your workout. There are sometimes a couple of machines out of order, but they seemed to get fixed quickly.
Also in the first floor area, there is a cycling studio, a large open studio and a stretching area. In the rear of the first floor, there are a number of selectorized machines and an additional stretching area. They also recently replaced what had been a small 2^nd studio with an open, turf area. This provides some additional usage space, but can become crowded with personal training at peak times.
Downstairs is the main weight room with free weights, benches, squat racks and some additional selectorized equipment. The equipment is spaced logically and there a good selection of equipment. However, this area becomes very crowded during peak times and the ventilation downstairs isn’t the best so it can become stuffy down there. The free weight equipment, bar bells and cable attachments are also often scattered throughout the whole space so finding your desired weight can be a challenge. There is a full size boxing bag in one corner. Lastly, there is a small pool which is convenient for slow, casual laps or good for kids.
The locker rooms, at the least the men’s, are serviceable although the lockers themselves are below a full size locker space (as compared to other locker rooms). They are generally kept pretty clean as well.

This place is absolute bullshit. Why in the world did NYSC close their biggest and busiest gym in the area (with about three days notice!) and leave this crock of shit open? It’s 5:00 on a Saturday and I should have no problem working out in peace. Instead I am standing here waiting over ten minutes for an elliptical machine. Furthermore it’s like 200 degrees in here, and the equipment they do actually have is total shit. I am considering walking across the street to Equinox and inquiring about a membership there. Clearly I am no longer able to utilize nysc in my own neighborhood.
Update– Tuesday night at 10:15pm and I STILL have to wait for a machine. There are dozens of empty treadmills. Management needs to get a clue and replace them with ellipticals (the precor obviously are the most popular).

This has been my regular gym for about three years now, and I used to love it. It used to be a quiet little gym where you could have an intimate class, and generally get a spot on a machine.
Then, on Jan. 15^th chaos ensued and now, as others have pointed out, this gym is a total clusterf*ck. Avoid at all costs.
Not only did they choose to shut the 86^th street location’s doors (one of the largest and most populated locations) thereby putting the onus on the much smaller 91^st and 76^th street locations, they did so in mid-​January — the busiest month of the year! These two little gyms are now not only dealing with the influx of users from 86^th street, but also all of the Resolutioners.
At this point, you essentially have to sign up for a spin class the second you can, and if you want to use a machine (especially one in short supply such as the stairs) you have to go around 9 pm. I am not a fan of working out that late, especially during the week. I’ve heard from a friend who uses the bottom floor weight area that people are basically tripping over each other all the time, and forget about using the punching bag.
I’d recommend literally any other gym at this point. Unfortunately, for now, I’m locked in. I think 24-​hour fitness, the soon-​to –be Equinox (if you can afford it) or Synergy would all serve you better because you’d probably actually be able to, you know, work out. I’m pretty pissed that the management clearly does not give a damn about its patrons. Such a shame.
Edit: now, to top it all off, they’re having some type of towel crisis, which I’m sure was catalyzed by being completely over capacity. They should probably stop accepting new members at this point, but I see them giving tours everyday.

I’ve been a NYSC member for years and have mostly had a positive experience. This particular location (91^st) was one of their best clubs. But then they suddenly closed their 86^th St location (with no communication whatsoever to members). Now the 91^st St location is a complete sh*tshow. Can’t get a machine & my usual spin classes now have to be booked 6 days in advance. Not to mention that they apparently sacked my favorite spin instructor & replaced her with a drill sergeant (albeit one who probably had more seniority) from the closed 86^th St location.
Bottom line: You can’t just close one location when the only nearby alternative (within almost a mile) is a club ¹⁄₃ of its size. What is NYSC thinking? Well, it appears they did it bc they sold the 86^th St location for some $ 90 million & some developer is building a condo. The condo building is where they’re going to have a new NYSC. Problem is that won’t be for a few years. So it appears that members suffer while NYSC rakes in the bucks. Makes me feel duped.