Greenpoint YMCA

Totally worked for a few years. Not ideal, and between the smell of the pool and the smell of decades of man sweat in the basement, there are some things you have to move past and ignore to do what you need and get the hell out, but that can be said for any such facility. The level of equipment expansion upstairs is nice and seems to be useful for new female membership, while mostly dudes stay downstairs to do the heavy lifting. It was a nice temporary stepping stone while there were no other gyms in the area.

It’s OK…
Not the best not the worst.
They have variety of machines although everything is crammed so there is a danger of bumping into someone else’s machine as you are using your own machine. I like the place because it never gets crazy crowded. I know ymca is all about the family and the community but there are teenagers fooling around in the weight room, sitting on the machine and texting forever not minding the people waiting to use the machine. Staff often not so professional in terms of management. I’ve seen a random guy coming into the cardio room (obviously not a member) and pulled out a yoga mat and started sleeping on it with a blanket that he brought. Also during the summer when I used the vending machine to get some cold water from what obviously said «cool section», the water was luke warm and when I questioned the staff they said it’s because they don’t run the cooling feature in the machine. So… try not to buy any food from these vending machines. If you are looking for a mature work out space, this is definitely not the right gym. But if you are looking for a quiet space that you can do daily exercise it’s ok.

After being a member of the YMCA in Greenpoint for 6 months I have to quit.
The frustrations it gives me are not worth it everytime I work out. YMCA is meant to be about community, one area of the community they are not considering or supporting is women.
There is no cool down area, or space to do free standing exercises like squats, press ups etc. The cardio room is cramped with EQ and when it is busy in there, there is NO space to do any kind of stretch out. There is 1 small area for this that would fit 2 mats at awkward positions. There is 1 other smaller room upstairs again cramped with EQ and I only ever see 2 MAX people in there. I asked management so many times as to why some EQ from the smaller room couldn’t be placed downstairs and they wouldn’t move on it. Downstairs there is 1 large room weights room which seems to have a ‘men only’ vibe, (or more likely guys taking selfies of themselves in the mirrors with pumped arms and lifting weights which are too heavy for them so they drop them down on the ground that shakes the floor). The wifi does not work in that downstairs room either so you can’t stream music.
The Gym has no mirror in it and is more for kids activities/​group games like basketball, so it’s not worth going to a lot of the classes where you need to see your alinement in a mirror. I did a great kettle bells class which I will really miss but it’s not worth being a member to go.
They also constantly cancel classes, which I find very frustrating, especially for kids days. They also cancel with little/​no notice for other reasons.
I raised all these issues to several members of staff and ALL of them agreed with me, and said they understood my frustrations. When I spoke to management they didn’t really know what to say as they know it’s an issue and ultimately Emma ended up telling me they are the next YMCA in line to be moved to a new location in Greenpoint with better facilities. She said this would happen next year… we will see, seems like a bit of a fob off.
What happened to empowering women and giving them support!!!
Rebecca

I have always chosen to go to YMCA gyms over chain gyms or boutique gyms because I don’t like how crowded those types of gyms tend to get, and also how, even when they promise otherwise, there is usually weird gym hierarchy /​intimidation vibes. Writing that down, it seems crazy, but I’m sure many of you know what I’m talking about. The Y is always quiet, and even during peak hours it’s not overwhelmed with people. Even when it is close to full, everyone minds their own business. The machines are great, relatively new, especially the treadmills which have a course mode with a high quality simulation visuals from around the world. Pretty cool, and it distracts me from how much I don’t want to be running. The gym is always clean and so are the machines. The sauna in the women’s locker room is great, and although I’ve only used the pool once, it was a good experience, and it’s a great perk. The counter workers are very friendly and helpful. They also have some of the best hours for the price. They are open UNTIL MIDNIGHT Monday — Friday… amazing.

Great local Y, everyone is very friendly. It doesn’t have the all the amenities of a high end gym, but it’s a great deal for the price. The pool can get crowded if you don’t go at the right time. The TVs in the cardio room are a little small and hard to see, but who really cares.

Yes, I am the fan of the Y.
First, if you want to be member without pay a tons of mulaar, your pocket would be glad!
Second, it’s convenient , if you like to swim all year round, you in the right spot.
Third, if you are all way complain, view the world with negative though, just pass it.
Over all, I like this Y.

I like it here. I like pain. I can play ball with the brothas or not swim with old people. I have made many friends here, at least two. Some guys look like they work out before they get here. I wonder what their problem is. But they’re cool they say things like you need a spot bro And I’m like, nah I’m good I want to rest the bar on my neck. The staff are genuinely nice and helpful, but sometimes when I leave an hour after closing the guy at the front looks at me like what are you still doing here I want to go home and I’m like dude I had to take a shower after everybody left because I like taking showers alone and he’s like k. then I realize we both had this conversation with just our eyes

This is a decent gym. The only thing that I don’t like is that there are very few classes in the daytime. That’s hardly unusual. It’s clean, it is never very crowded in the daytime, the staff is nice. The tiny pool is sometimes too hot but the hours are perfect, the fitness room & the weight room have everything that you need for a good workout. It’s clean, it’s affordable.
Update: The locker rooms have been completely redone. I’ve never been in the men’s locker room, obviously but I read another review down the page that complained about the lockers so I thought that I would mention that. The Women’s locker room is kept pretty pristine. My only complaint so far is the «lost and found» box in the women’s locker room which is a more of «find and take» box. I’m trying harder not to lose things, and I also spoke to the manager about how frustrated I was. She is very nice but I doubt there is anything that she can do about it..

This is the best gym I been here price wise and what you get for your 59 $ a month. The YMCA is flushing charges roughly twice that price for ¼ of what you get. The gym offers a lifestyle room which contains all of their machines, massage room and locker rooms and gymnasium on the south side on the north side you have the weight lifting and aerobic exercise rooms. The first floor is where the swimming pool daycare and main locker rooms are. The gym is fully equipped and very friendly staff which cater to your needs as well as the vending machines take credit cards and the gym comes with reserved lockers and parking. Best gym for its value no doubt not to mention the free joiners fee they have going on now till November.

This place offers fantastic value for money, come here for a no-​frills gym in a very convenient location for the right price. I will start with a quick disclaimer that I never need to shower or use the restrooms here as I live close by.
The classes are always great, I take Cardio Kickboxing, Total Body Conditioning and Kettlebells classes. I think the YMCA’s system of filling out regular evaluation reports is effective as the trainers get constant feedback from the class. I have paid much more for gyms with trainers that don’t give a shit!
Yes, sometimes I long for eucalyptus scented chilled towels and top of the range equipment but am I willing to travel/​pay for it? Nope!

Wish I didn’t have to do this, but this place has really gone down hill over the course of two years. Between the filthy men’s locker room, the endless «renovation» projects that go on forever (can we have our showers back, please?) and the total lack of staff accountability for theft and damage to personal property, I am one more bad incident away from canceling my membership here (And I’ve already been robbed once in this place).
I only stay for the Punk Rope — Wednesday nights at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Giving this place 5 stars because it has all the things I require at a gym. Lockers and treadmills. That’s all I need. Staff is friendly and people watching is top notch.

Ever go to school with one of those kids who was the youngest of many children and his parents just couldn’t be bothered with him and so he always looked like he needed a haircut and he wore short sleeve shirts in winter and down jackets in summer?
Ever been in an abandoned, haunted building that was so dingy and neglected that every day felt like Halloween?
Merge the two together and you have the Greenpoint YMCA.
YES, it’s cheap. And YES, it serves the purpose if you just want a weight room or some cardio equipment. And YES, it’s open 24 hours and provides an alternative to the numerous meathead weightlifter gyms in the area.
But this place seems like the seriously neglected, forgotten branch of the YMCA.
The pool is really tiny. So small that even my cat probably wouldn’t get much exercise doing laps in it.
The machines will only let you set the timer for a half-​an-​hour, probably to combat the severe overcrowding that takes place during weekday evenings.
Grime rules in the men’s bathroom/​locker room. Yes, they redid the bathrooms. But they apparently don’t put soap in them anymore. And the shower room seems to be home to some weird species of small white fly.
The other day, the showers had no hot water. I had to put my sweaty workout clothes back on, go to the reception desk and tell the two people working there about the situation. They radioed the maintenance man. I heard his response. An unenthusiastic grunt affirming that he’d take care of the problem whenever he had time. One of the desk workers helpfully suggested that I just let the water run for 15 minutes to see if it eventually got hot (brilliant). The maintenance man eventually showed up and tested the water temperature under every single shower. Never mind that they all feed from the same two pipes.
I eventually settled for a lukewarm shower.
Not the end of the world, but not particularly enjoyable, either.
I’m a member of the McBurney YMCA and I pay the extra $ 2 per month so I can use any branch citywide. The Greenpoint YMCA is fine for when I don’t feel like trekking into Manhattan during the weekends, but you’ll never see Roger Moore working out there during a segment of «Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.»

I’ll stick it out because it’s close and has equipment, but this place is disgusting, hygienically. The locker room reeks, the showers are so outdated, the mildew is severe, there’s no toilet facility in the locker room: the toilet with 1 stall and 2 urinals (I assume the dames have it worse) is dangerously remote.
As a community organization, the Y gives kids a boiled chicken neck and tells them it’s thanksgiving dinner.
Get your act together or I’m going with the jews.

This gym gets the job done. At $ 50-​something a month and with the best hours in the neighborhood (not like you have a lot of gym choices anyway), it is a pretty good option. Everything is relatively modern (aside from the restrooms).
Here’s the rundown of the facilities:
Cardio room — tons of machines, open 5am — midnight
Strength training room — circuit training machines, but sadly only one per muscle (except legs, which have three for some reason)
Free weight room — decent size, but very popular — new modern dumbbells as of recently. Closes earlier on the weekends.
Locker rooms — decent, includes sauna — restrooms are not a fun experience, however (I can only speak for the men’s of course)
Pool — I have not gotten to use it as it has a bathing cap requirement and I can’t find one that fits my head
If you’re looking to do cardio only, there’s no reason to pay more for another gym. If you’re into free weights, you’ll probably be satisfied with this gym. If you’re into weight machines you’ll be a little disappointed.
But at the end of the day, it’s the hours and the price that give this gym a four-​star rating.

Clean.
Friendly staff.
Not a ton of machines, but there’s always something to do.
I like it a lot.

My #1 criteria for a gym is convenience, which is why I joined the Greenpoint Y — I can see it from my apartment. I think the building is an elementary school, which is how I rationalize the narrow hallways.
Anyway, it’s a zero-​frills gym but the machines always work and it’s almost empty in the mornings, when I prefer to work out. The classes are really good: total body conditioning with Danielle is effective and ass-​kicking, and the Punk Rope class is crowded but a lot of fun. If you’re an after-​work gym-​goer, I would definitely recommend going to a class and staying away from the cardio room, unless you like to work out in a room as crowded as the L train you came home on.
Also, it’s CHEAP! Yeah, the Equinox near my office is nicer, but is it an extra hundred dollars a month nicer? It is not.

Towels? You wish! Gotta bring your own.
I have a love/​hate relationship with the Greenpoint YMCA.
If you want a luxurious gym experience, this is not your place. Everything is a little worn down, the workout and locker rooms smell like feet, you have to sign up to use cardio machines (30 minute limit). A lot of people use this gym, and there are not always enough lockers to stash your stuff. In addition, there isn’t much space to stretch, so occasionally there will be someone like the guy who splays himself out on the Swiss ball and plays air guitar and takes up the entire space, oblivious to the fact that others might also need to use that area. The Y is geared toward families, so keep in mind that sometimes the limited spaces are full of kids or groups of teenagers who are way more interested in hanging out than exercising.
That said, the Greenpoint Y is a good gym for the price. The fitness classes are outstanding. The instructors and staff are friendly and approachable. The equipment is replaced regularly and kept in good working order. And the atmosphere is very, very casual — I like that I can wear old, crappy t-​shirts and sweats and no one gives me snooty looks because it isn’t Lululemon (like people tend to do in the Upper East Side, my former neighborhood). While I did previously mention that the rooms are smelly, I know that the staff keeps the facility as clean as possible; people have been sweating there for only about a century, go figure.

It seems to me that the Greenpoint YCMA has quite an uphill battle on its hands. For one thing, it’s housed in a very old building which is clearly showing its age. Second, there are more people using the facility than ever and congestion can really ruin a gym. Having frequented this gym off and on for a couple years, I can confidently say that they have done an excellent job keeping this facility in top shape despite all the changes. They frequently replace the hardware, making the somewhat dingy workout rooms seem fresh and modern. They even installed central air in the cardio room recently — a rather serious and important undertaking.
The people who frequent this gym could not be more diverse and are quite friendly on the whole. Absent are the steroid filled muscle-​men frowning at the skinny newcomers. The only group to watch out for is the Polish teenagers, who aren’t malicious by any means, but will often waste time sitting around on the machines talking to one another. This can get frustrating, but as one employee once told me, there’s not much they can do about it.
Another potential drawback is that during certain hours (5pm-​7pm on weekdays) the gym can become very, very crowded. I’m sure this is the case with many gyms, but at the Greenpoint Y it’s become such a problem that I simply won’t go during this time. I understand that they’ve made serious improvements to the layout of their facilities to accommodate the volume of traffic here, and it does make for a peaceful atmosphere most of the time. Again, what can they really do about this? The building isn’t getting any bigger.
When considering the drawbacks of the Greenpoint YCMA, it’s useful to consider the alternatives. Let’s face it: gyms usually suck. A lot. That being said, the Greenpoint YMCA really goes above and beyond in servicing a large and diverse community and I always look forward to working out there.

The
Cheapest
Gym except
The public one
On Metropolitan and Bedford ave.