gyms in Hudson/Wash Heights?

J's Big Gym on 181st. Street between Wadsworth & St. Nicholas Avenues.

It IS big, the equipment is plenty (but aged), and it's open "24 hours" (during the week). $300/year.

However, no one seems to understand gym etiquette there.

I worry also about the structural integrity of the building; J has crammed so many ultra-heavy gym machines on the floor, and combined with the treadmills, the floor is not just vibrating, it's visibly SHAKING when it's a full crowd.

And shower at home. Trust me.

There is a new Planet Fitness on Dyckman St. I have not been there but I do go to the one in Marble Hill near the Target. It is really cheap and there are lots of machines. No classes though if you are interested in that.

Shower at home, Matt? I thought that was half the point of going to a gym.

Riverbank State Park on 145th and RSD is probably worth checking out. It's cheap (like $100/year I think) and actually very nice and totally clean.

Riverbank has its charms, but its filthy and decrepit fitness center is not among them. Maybe for sports and swimming, though.

nyc10023, we're surprised to learn you're into ... *that*. Or you must go to quite a gym!

The YM/WHA of Washington Heights on Nagle Avenue

oh my :-O

"Shower at home, Matt? I thought that was half the point of going to a gym."

It is.

But not at THIS gym.

There is also a Lucille Roberts on St. Nick. I don't know if it counts as a gym, but I walk by it on the way to the library and there are always a decent number of women in there.

great ! thanks eveyone.

great ! thanks everyone.

Riverbank State Park is closing, due to budget cuts.

If you want classes, there is a yoga place in Inwood called Break and Yoga. I haven't been but hear good things.

Riverbank isn't closing, unless you mean a particular facility or program. Mostly they're just cutting hours and some of the free programs, like those for old persons.

But more likely it's all fiscal theater, and they won't cut anything. They should try raising fees, which are ridiculously low.

I thought they were closing most of the facilities at Riverbank, but I don't know the details. I recall reading that the pools are being shut down, and I thought other big chunks of it.

But it was all preliminary, it's true that it might be theater at this point. They could end up cutting all or nothing.

But it struck me that they'd probably be able to get away with cuts there more easily there than in more affluent parts of town. People who use Riverbank don't have political connections, or the time during the day to go to public hearings amd raise a ruckus. They have to go to work.

Alan: I saw this in the news - the outdoor pool at Riverbank will close. I think Riverside Park should take over administration, and have a huge fundraising campaign. Screw the state.

Yes, I read that too. I can't imagine they'd save very much money by closing the outdoor pool, so I think that proposal is just the main stage for the fiscal theater. [If I coined the phrase "fiscal theater", I'm very pleased with myself.]

Riverbank was built to get buy-in from the neighborhood for the water-treatment plant that the park sits on ... the assumption is that ongoing funding of the park, and not just its construction, is part and parcel of that deal. I'm sure its operation can use some streamlining, but severe cutbacks while leaving the water-treatment operations at 100% (which of course they need to do) seems like a no-no, and possibly a legal breach.

But I am not at all pleased with RiverSIDE Park's operation of little Sakura Park, which it took over and dropped its "quiet space" status, allowing it to become a dumping-ground of bad behaviors (rabid dog-owners running around; no enforcement of no-sports policy; barbecues) that Riverside would never allow in its own park.

part of the state wide proposed closings/cutbacks of state parks. and while i agree with your assessment of fiscal theater; ( indeed, impossible to watch tv for more than 5 minutes these days without seeing a nj ad criticizing christie's planned cutbacks on education); there is a long way to go to get to $9 billion or whatever the real number is.

Where is Sakura Park? Is that the area by the water know as Riverside Park to those who live in the 145-181 area?

As someone who lives near Riverbank State Park, it kind of pisses me off they would close parts of it. However, as a swimmer...no loss. The pool isn't set up correctly - the hours are obscene, they charge extra each visit, and the pool is basically nothing more than a recreational block party in the summers. I tried for a bit and now make the trek downtown to the Chelsea Rec center where the hours are better and it's only $75/year.