Tony Dapolito Recreation Center

The outdoor pool is great!!! Over the summer there is early evening lap swim from 7pm to dusk, which is free. The pool was clean and not too crowded. The Keith Harring mural, West Village street and gorgeous architecture for the library/​rec center, really make for a unique outdoor pool experience. To swim during adult lap time, you need to sign up in advance online to get a card…
Bring a towel, LOCK, goggles, flip flops and obviously your suit. Enjoy!

I like this recreation center a lot. I started coming here a month or so ago for the Thursday night juggle. This is one of the few places in Manhattan that ha a regular juggling group. Pricing is chair to cheap. The locker room is clean and has a shower. There are two gymnasiums upstairs. There is also exercise equipment scatters throughout the facility. I also saw weight equipment but haven’t used any yet. I think there is an indoor and /​or outdoor pool.
I a fan of city faculties and feel it is worth checking out. They do have various classes too so ask about them.
Amazing the staff here is very friendly.

For a very affordable price, this is a nice, decently equipped, no frills gym with a variety of classes, plus an indoor and out door pool, basketball, runners track, weight room, and various machines.
The staff for the most part is friendly, and the instructors are pretty good — pilates, flex, spin, etc. It opens at 7Am so good for those who want to go to a gym or take a class before work, or to beat any crowds. Occasionally though, an instructor has failed to show up for a scheduled early morning class. A huge variety of people use the gym — seniors, kids, serious, just the pool, muscle bound and unbound.
For me the main problem are the bathrooms/​locker rooms. I can only speak about he women’s side. While superficially clean, I think they can do with a power wash to remove the grime on the floors and walls. Some of the locker doors are broken, the toilets are very hard to flush, in the mornings the toilet paper dispensers are empty, and the totally depleted room deodorizers have been abandoned on the walls for months. I think a lot of people accept this as part of the affordability of the gym.
But it seems it would take only a little bit of effort to make the women’s locker room more professional looking, and welcoming. As well as paying attention to the schedule of classes and not cancelling them without notice.
Still, I am very glad the Parks Dept supports these rec centers, and appreciate all the work that goes into maintaining and programming them.

Badminton!!! Wohhhoooooo

It’s a no frills gym that I am grateful to have easy access to. It’s near my office and costs much less than NYSC, Equinox, etcetera, which has everything you need and nothing more. And I haven’t even used the pool yet. Thank you, Parks Department!

Whatever you do please skip their free movie night, apart of the NYC Parks: Free Summer Movies. Last night a friend and I showed up w/​snacks and drinks to enjoy Edward Scissorhands. We left after 15 minutes of not being able to endure how terrible and HORRIBLE the experience was. Not only was the screen small but it had damage to it where you could see little dots and holes. Fair enough, we decided to stay since we got closer to the screen. The sky was still pretty lit when they decided to go on and start the film and you couldn’t even make out the picture. Also they were having a problem with the sound so it was very distorted and nobody could hear it. People kept looking around trying to figure out who was going to fix this. A lot of people were laughing and some just having a conversation w/​their friends ignoring the whole experience. What’s worse is whoever’s laptop they were using a McAfee Security Scan update kept popping up every 2 minutes distracting from an already difficult movie to view and hear. In the beginning the guys who worked here tried to fix it or at least make us think they were but eventually they all left the room and left us sitting there to absorb what an atrocity that I cleared my schedule for. I realize this was a FREE movie but come on people? Don’t waste people’s time, this was poor poor judgement and lack of experience. If these young kids don’t know how to operate anything technical why is the NYC Parks advertising this in NYC of all places. I might’ve understood if this was my nephew’s elementary school putting together a movie night but in the West Village? We eventually got up and left while others laughed, I think I saw a few others getting up too after realizing nobody was doing anything about the audio and visual interruptions by the update warning. When we left the guy at the desk was annoyed and frustrated he couldn’t find others who were in charge of program. We told him about how the film wasn’t working and he just said he couldn’t find the guy in charge. I believe they checked out and went to see another movie of their own probably. Who’s running this show? What a joke, a waste of time, and actually embarrassing. I feel sorry for these people that they don’t care about their center, it’s clearly obvious this was their first time at the rodeo. Don’t go to the next film on the ⁷⁄₂₉^th until they get their butts in gear. Again bad job guys and you know it from the looks of the guy who was laughing and originally set it up.

*This review is based only on the staff at the center*
I just joined a few days ago. I had to wait for 45 minutes while 2 people were also getting memberships. I could tell that they were just as frustrated as I was. The women processing their membership cards was extremely slow and didn’t seem to care that there was a line of people. I could tell that she was the boss, but i was very confused because she didn’t seem to know what she was doing. As someone to chat with, she seemed nice enough, but after a half hour i was very angry.
When it was my turn to get my membership, another lady at the desk got a bag of lollipops and was playing with a little boy and teasing a coworker with the candy. The two women at the counter took at least 10 minutes to start focusing on me and that was after 30 minutes.
Finally i received my card and was directed to where i could find the entrance to the pool. My brother and I had planned to go swimming so he could prepare for the next swim season.
We walked into the directed entrance and was kicked away y the pool staff who were joking around with each other. A women told us to leave and come back later even though there was another 45 – 60 minutes until they had their break. My brother and I are going back today hopefully with a better experience. But st the moment I am definitely not eager to face those unkind employes again.

I came here after seeing a listing for a FREE Zumba class on
. This place is really big and the staff is very friendly. I have never met a positive, happy person that has worked for the city of NY. So as the woman gave me a little tour of the locker room an the rest of the place (with a smile!) it was a pleasant surprise. The building is very old, but cleanish. I found a dead waterbug in the class. But hey its was dead so i can’t call the place dirty. The locker room is a huge, the lockers are very small so plan accordingly.
After a quick change we took the elevator to the third floor and stepped into the magical world of Zumba with our instructor Jamie Conception. She’s a little bit fantastic! She made the class fun, and hyped everyone up when she sensed we were drained. It wasn’t as intense as other classes that i have been to. Not saying it was a breeze, far from it. Its medium and do able, but add a few more jumps and you’re good. Also the crowd was a real melting pot, lots of different ages and body types. Everyone there seemed to know each other and were very excited to see each other and the instructor.
I read a few of the other reviews, and most of them seem smug and judgey. Yea there are old people and slightly unattractive people there. Who let all these normal people in, ewwww. If you are really there to handle you’re own business, you won’t even notice. It’s called being focus, Its also called NYC, so get over it. If you want a bunch of hard bodies there is an Equinox less than 1o mins away. If you are looking for a place to get fit on a budget this is for you.
In location news, its right near the 1 train, short walk from the E and a little longer from the M/​F/​D/​B at West 4^th.

To use a phrase that I hear so much here in the city, it is what it is. If ancient Sparta had modern gyms, it would probably look and function much like the NYC Recreation Centers: sparse, utilitarian, and occasionally full of teenagers.
This center is on my way to work and not a pain in the ass to get to from where I live. Ultimately, all I want to do is lift weights, swim, get out, and not pay a lot of money to do so. Up until Hurricane Sandy, these were qualities that would at least warrant a two or three star rating.
But, alas: they’ve been closed for over a month now, with no clear timetable for when they will be back. Here’s hoping they get around to fixing some of their equipment as part of their (eventual?) reopening, too.

I came here to get my exercise on by swimming laps. There’s an early bird & night owl hour allotted just for lap swimming. The outdoor pool ranges from 4ft to 9ft deep. I like swimming on the deep end, but alas, it was blocked off. They only open it if the random number of 23 people show up to swim.
The pool was clean. The locker room was ‘meh.’ Lockers are provided, just bring your own lock. For night swimming though, it’s not enforced.
Don’t come expecting Ryan Lochte bodies. Most are in their silver years, at least when I went. Be prepared to possibly see a grandfather-​like figure in a speedo.

Ah the old Carmine St. pool. Different name, same happiness. Outdoor pool is beside a Keith Haring mural. There is a diving section. The lockers have been revamped. The security and staff are friendly. The place is cleaner than most public pools. There is ample shade around the outdoor pool, provided by buildings and trees all around. There is a sign that discourages use of Master locks as they are easy to break into (this sign is not up in Chelsea rec, or Asser Levy, or 54^th St. rec). It’s a sweet little pool, with a lot of side deck for beach towel lounging.

I’ve been a fan of this place since it was Carmine. A student put me onto it. I’m not long going because I live in Queens, but I miss it. The gym I’m in now doesn’t «feel» like a gym. It feels like a club or meat market that masks itself as a gym. I wanna work out amongst people who are there to get sweaty and exhausted, and go home. That is here for the most part. You look at any Rocky film, and this is the type of place where it would be shot. Community and dedication to improving the self rather than the image of the self.

This is a great public pool to check out if you are in the area. (Im referring to the outdoor pool).
It’s usually bustling with activity, and don’t expect to get one of the few beach chairs (if you do, you wont be able to swim because you will have to guard it with your life the whole time you are there). Other than that, its lovely and big enough to accommodate the flocks of people that come to it.
*Don’t forget to bring a lock, you will not be allowed inside the building without one.

***REVIEW FOR POOL ONLY***
…by which I mean the indoor pool, which is not to be confused with the similarly sized outdoor pool out back — as seen in the film Raging Bull — that also goes by the name Carmine Street Pool.
Who is Tony Dapolito, anyway? Find the history here (
). The building is another NYC pool facility that was converted from its original purpose as a genuine bathhouse when it opened in 1908.
Squat and trapezoidal in shape, the brick edifice is easy to spot if you surface from the NE Corner exit at Houston and Varick off the uptown 1 train, and take a right onto Varick. It’ll be right there, occupying the entire corner of Clarkson and 7^th Avenue. This morning, there was a friendly parks worker out front with a clipboard for names since the laser member card scanner was down.
The two stars are not because of anything other than the fact that the shallow end of this already intermediate sized 70 foot is a mere 2 feet deep! This is not an exaggeration because the wall above the pool has signs on it shouting the progression from 7 feet to two feet. Two feet is not a lot of space for even a child to do a handstand. In fact, for even the most diminuitive adults, an attempt to do a turn on the shallow end of the pool could be fatal. As it was, I felt like I had to suck my stomach in to keep it from hitting the bottom, and then I had to frog stroke myself in a 360 to turn around or contort myself to get my legs under me so I could push off the wall.
It was amazing that people were swimming here at all, since there’s no way to have a fluid workout. Ironically, the swimmers here were just about the most even-​paced, least aggressive, most considerate, and least showboating humans I’ve encountered in any pool. The young lifeguard was super nice, too, and more vigilant than most. He informed me that it’s 76 lengths to the mile.
One benefit is that the ceiling is like the tiled version of graph paper, and the backstroke is bliss since you can mark your alignment and progress with each square foot of ceiling and each blazing floodlight hanging from perfect intervals.
The locker room is open, airy, and even has some indoor trees to spruce things up. However, the mid-​height islands of floor lockers have no hooks. That makes no sense! The double deckered lockers wrapping around the room do have hooks, but they are covered inside and out with a film of aged filth. The bottom cubbies are creepier than the top, but it’s hard to reach the hooks on the upper lockers, so it’s a tradeoff.
The floors are oddly spotless by comparison, as is the open-​room shower, which has six spigots of which only two work. At least those two have the most water pressure I have ever experienced in a public facility, but they turn off automatically after seven seconds of real time, so it’s as if you have to manually pump the water out to get clean.
On the way out of an otherwise passable workout, the one other functioning shower station was being used by a woman who was shaving her legs — with cream, soap, and the whole deal. My opinion is that unless you’re like 13 and have no leg hair anyway but want to try it out with one leg in the sink at summer camp, giggling and screaming with your cabin mates at the novelty of it all… then you should keep that shit at home.
It was the last straw for me, and though I look forward to splashing around in the legendary outdoor pool just to be somewhere that De Niro once treaded, I will not be exercising here again. Oh, unless I want to do a solo clinic of backstroking technique for like an hour.

From June 25^th to Labor Day, this 65-​by 25-​yard outdoor public pool is the best of its kind. It’s on one of the leafiest, brownstone-​iest blocks in the West Village. You can leave your wallet at home (it’s free), but don’t forget a towel and a lock for your locker.

At $ 75 a year, this place is dirt cheap. That is about where the good ends.
The staff is the worst of the worst when it comes to municipal employees. Unhelpful. Rude. Inarticulate. And, obviously, very secure in their jobs. (There are one or two exceptions to this … there is an older maintenance guy who is awesome, but most of the staff will greet you with attitude and silence … excluding the time you must wait for some lady at the desk to wrap up her personal cell phone call — this has happened twice, two different women.) On top of that, the lockers are filthy. The pool is always crowded to the point it is difficult to swim. And it’s grimy.
But, yes, it’s cheap.

You get what you pay for.
$ 75 yearly membership fee? Awesome! Even the YMCA is more expensive than that.
However… the staff leaves something to be desired, most of the time. Some of them are great. The others, not so much. I had one guy rudely stand there after announcing the computer lab was closing (half an hour early) and then inform me that «I wasn’t supposed to be in there anyway», on a day when the lab would normally be open for general adult use. Note: there was no sign on the door, and the door was unlocked. When you scan your cards in, the front desk staff DEMANDS to see your lock. In a tone that would serve a room of attitude ridden inmates at jail or middle school students uninterested in gym class. It is awful and offputting in a very serious way. Adults who PAY for a facility should NOT be treated that way, EVER.
There is however, a computer lab. Which has saved my butt big time since the loss of internet at home. The hours are alright. There’s never a wait, and they just upgraded the equipment. There is a weight room, which I can not comment on, except that I’ve passed it and it looks basic, but workable. The cardio machines are squeezed into an awkward spot in a ring around the basketball court. They too, are basic and after work there is a wait for them. But an exercise bike is an exercise bike and again, for the price, it works out ok. There’s a dance studio, which you can use if there are no classes. I hate to rely on it though, because sometimes patrons decide to conduct their own sessions, taking up the whole room, and it’s not comfortable to try to share the room.
Mostly, I’ve used the pools. They are clean enough and there are hours for adult lap swim, general adult swim, family, etc. I like that because I go to exercise and nothing against kids, but it’s great to be able to do so without dodging the kidlets. The locker rooms are kind of gross and the showers are such that you get a very brief (but hot) spurt of water before you have to push the button again, making it not so fun to try to wash anything adequately.

Small, dirty, slightly smell, but cheap!
I’ve been using the gym here for a couple months.
I’ve only used the weight room and treadmills, there’s also exercise classes and two pools (one outdoor, one indoor, (only one open at a time)).
There are two weight rooms, which have a bit of air conditioning. 3 treadmills and various bikes and stair climbing machines. The cardio machines are not air conditioned, which can be quite unpleasant during the summer. On the other hand, I’ve never had to wait for a machine.
The big draw here is the cost. Membership is $ 75 for the year, which is less then you’ll usually pay to join gym or their monthly fee.