The New York Sports Club (NYSC) plans to shut down the West 80th Street location effective March 5. The gym, one of three on the UWS, is the first of the NYSC locations to close in its namesake city post-pandemic although it has closed outlets in other cities.
In an email sent to gym members, NYSC stated that “due to the property owner’s long term plans for the building,” they would be forced to shutter operations, “effective March 5th.” The email goes on to state that members going to the West 80th Street location have the options of going to the West 73rd and West 94th Street locations instead.
The closing of the gym has drawn mixed reactions from gym members. “New York Sports Club is a pretty rotten gym,” said one member, Steve, from the Upper West Side. He stated that the gym has issues restocking soap in the locker rooms and complained that the gym equipment was sub-par and broken. “It’s been going on for a while. . . . It is a suboptimal situation.” Steve has been a member for about three-and-a-half years, and chose the gym because it is free through his healthcare package.
Now, he’s considering going to a nearby Jewish Community Center or spending some more on an Equinox membership. While he doesn’t need the luxury of a fancy gym, he stated that at NYSC, the luxury “is not there.”
Fred, another patron from the Upper West Side, shared Steve’s view. Though he only just began working out there, he said, “The atmosphere in there is dull,” he said. Like Steve, his health insurance covered his membership, so he joined the Silver Sneakers program. “It’s a great place for cardio,” Fred said, but when it comes to broken machines, lack of quality equipment, and issues of cleanliness, he reported that those issues have gone on “for god knows how long.” And while he will go try the location on West 94th Street, he said he’s not sorry to see the West 80th Street location go. “It’s right that they closed it down.”
For James, from the Bronx, the closing is “a sign of the times,” he said. “What can you do?” He and his wife have been going to this location for about 15 years. “She’s disappointed,” he said of his wife’s reaction. “Now, she’s gotta go out of her way.” Though James had not been going to the gym in over a year, he could not corroborate any of the issues brought up by Steve and Fred. “I’ve never really had a problem with it,” he said, shrugging.
Back in 2020, NYSC was at the center of a legal battle involving member dues. The gym chain was found to be continuously charging membership dues to patrons whose gyms were closed down, and refusing to cancel memberships during the pandemic. Among the locations closed during the pandemic were one in Chelsea and another in Greenpoint.
The decision not to refund money drew the ire of thousands of members, as well as New York Attorney General Letitia James. NYAG James filed a lawsuit in September of 2020 alleging that NYSC had profited illegally from its members during the pandemic, “flouting its obligations” to its members.
Included in the complaints filed by James’ office were “charging consumers membership dues for services not being offered; failing to issue credits as promised; imposing unlawful fees and advance notice requirements on cancellation requests; misleading consumers about their rights to cancel their memberships; and refusing to honor cancellation requests.”
That same month, NYSC’s parent company, Town Sports International, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
It wasn’t until January 2023 that the gym chain finally paid out the refunds to its members. In the end, approximately $250,000 was paid out to the thousands of members who filed complaints with James’ office. Each of the approximately 1,900 filers received about $110 each.
As for the West 80th Street situation, the gym manager’s official response on the closing was simple: “We respectfully decline to comment.”
Emails to the NYSC headquarters were not returned by presstime.