Prospect Park YMCA

I have been using this gym for about a year and a half now, and I am happy with the hours, with the friendliness of the staff, and with the selection of ellipticals and ArcTrainers and general availability when I want to use them.
I haven’t ever taken any of their classes, so I can’t comment on those. The space is clean and non-​judgmental, and I like that by being a member here I am supporting a community organization that gives back to people in the area through programming, housing, and access to the gym itself.
There is a sliding scale if you have low income, though the pre-​set «student discount» only technically applies to people enrolled full time in undergrad, not advanced degree candidates.

I used to like the Y better and stayed for a long time because of their excellent pool. But I got yelled at twice by members of the janitorial staff for minor stuff — not putting a towel back the way they wanted it, on one occasion. So, if you like getting yelled at before or after a workout, join the Y! I complained but no one gave a crap (and the Y website doesn’t give email contact info) so here I am, Unilocaling my heart out.

It’s bad enough that the PROSPECT YMCA is getting free money from me each month because my lazy ass hardly goes there but then they call me and tell me that I owe them money which I don’t.
I checked my bank records and saw that I made all payments. The membership personnel was snotty as can be to me and then when I told them that I was coming with my records, suddenly the problem was taken care of and they were «just about to call me to tell me». Yeah right, sure you were. If it wasn’t for the fact that they have great cardio classes and yoga classes, I’d tell them to kiss my fat tail and then I’d haul said fat tail over to a NYC recreational center.

«Meh. I’ve experienced better.» Pretty much sums up the whole review of the facility. But, the people that work their are really nice and deserve a much better review. This is only for the facility as a whole
Ground level: Yoga room, really small weight lifting room, basketball court
Bottom level: Pool/​lockrooms
Top level: Track/​weight room (machines) and a lot of treadmills/​elliptical
If you’re into weight-​lifting, this is definitely not the place to do it. They have all the equipment and everything but it’s all jam packed into separate small rooms. It’s the size of a living room. Two squat racks, two benches, and all the other accessory equipment. Space is very limited. Come here if you want to do aerobic exercises such as running or swimming.
Small swimming pool but personally, I think it’s understandable because it is Brooklyn and rent is not cheap! Guess pass is free but you’re limited 3 times. Like I said before, staff is very nice but I really wished they designed the place alittle bit better and not try to pack all activities into a whole building. Side note: you’ll mostly see children and their families!

Great swimming pool and changing rooms
Staff is super friendly and the place is very clean

Here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
Really great staff at the front door who are always friendly and helpful, and smile
Plenty of towels, locker rooms are pretty clean. Has sauna and steam room (although the steam room was broken my last visit).
Has two pools – lap pool and smaller teaching pool
I can’t speak to classes or the weight room, I only use the pool.
Cons:
Poor air quality in the lap pool, last time I swam there it caused me to have an exercise-​induced asthma attack. I don’t have asthma. It took over a week for my lungs to stop burning.
Pool temp is inconsistent – sometimes too warm for lap swimming, sometimes ok.
FYI, I swim in another pool in the city, and I don’t have these problems at that pool. Obviously something is amiss with either the pool chemistry, the ventilation, or both.

There are some pros and cons to this gym, and for myself the pros outweigh the cons and I will list them below, but you have to know what you are getting into with this place. As a Sunset Parker I have to travel to this gym because there are ZERO in my hood except one crossfit place that just opened up and costs more than my all utility bills to join. If you’re a broke NYer your only real gym option is PF, which is just not a gym I want to go to, so I was lucky enough to be gifted a membership to this place by my awesome mom. This gym is not anymore expensive than any other gym in the area but you get a lot of value.
PROS:
Staff
— All the staff members are really great here, even the cleaning staff. I love that they are always cleaning this place, and if you ask them something or want something, they don’t catch an attitude with you. I always find them folding towels… Take a towel from their bag, and give them one less to fold people!
Equipment
— Tons of equipment and accessories. I am honestly surprised this small ass gym holds all of it. They are missing some key pieces I would like to see but I can live with it! The weight room needs to be bigger for sure, and I wish they had straight barbells and not just the ez curl bars, but it gets the job done. One of the better equipped gyms in the area that caters to everyone’s needs and fitness levels. Very cool. Someone complained about not having access to dumbbells during someone else’s workout… Ummm ask? Weight room folks are very chill, cool people, we work in sets, so you can rotate them out, everyone rotates out the decline bench, bench press, and smith machine ALL DAY long, but a closed mouth won’t get fed. The 20lbers are always taken, I just grab the 25s or ask to rotate with someone. Never a problem.
Locker Rooms
— Towel Service, sauna, steam room, showers, changing stall, bathrooms, scale, mirrors, blow dryers, lockers, outlets to charge your phone or plug in your supplies, stools and benches. These locker rooms are fully equipped and always being cleaned by staff members, floors always mopped, towels always removed and changed. Serious props to the cleaning ladies! I love those ladies. This is one of the first locker rooms I’ve been in that hasn’t skeeved me out.
Family oriented gym
— No creeps! I’ve never been bothered by anyone here, and most people are really nice and friendly if you do end up talking to them. Mostly moms and dads and teenagers looking to get buff, a few grandmas and grandpas in the AM keeping fit. Not too many meathead types, and the few that are don’t hog the weight equipment, and even showed me how to use the squat rack when I needed help. No attitudes in this gym so far and it makes for a pleasant experience despite the few cons/​annoyances I have.
CONS:
Family oriented gym
— This means there are tons of kids everywhere, as a mom working out, I tend to leave my kid at home but the kids are not what bother me. Its the fact that there are ALWAYS a ton of little kids (2 – 8 male and female) sitting in the front of the woman’s locker room and EATING. Moms and nannies leaving their stuff and kids everywhere so as you walk in you have to step over them and they’re eating ten feet away from where someone may be changing. It’s really annoying and the staff does nothing to make it stop or enforce the 18 and older only rule of that locker room. If you’re this mom… STOP IT!
Too many treadmills
I wish they had a versa climber/​ladder or a few more step mills or row machines instead. Most of the treadmills are always empty even during peak times, so I wish we weren’t so limited on space on the cardio floor.
No place for free stretching or workouts.
— They DO have a stretching area but it’s tiny and fits about 5 people comfortable and 7 not so comfortably. This is also near the personal trainer area and you can’t be there or use that equipment if a trainer is with a client. They should let people use the studios when classes aren’t in session for these purposes.
Have to pay a PT for best equipment access.
— They have some awesome equipment that you wouldn’t expect or think about, but being curious about battle ropes, they told them they actually did have them! I was excited to try them out until he said you can only use them with trainer. Wonder what else they are stashing?
Day care/​Children Staff
— The worst CON of this whole damn place. My family are also members to another Y and the children staff is much better at the other one. This daycare makes you call a week in advance to book a spot, its super tiny, and you need to fill out all these forms and doctor papers as if it was a real daycare and not some room full of toys. Maybe for a baby, but for a 4 year old? Come on. The other Ys do not make you do this, bring your kid, if there is space, go workout, if no space, wait and come back. Sign in and out with membership card and thats it! Swim lessons were a waste of money here, teachers are lackluster at best.

This review is just for the weight room — I don’t take group classes, I have no kids, and I don’t swim.
One of the most overpriced, but worst equipped gyms I have ever seen, if your sport is weight lifting. One squat rack. ‘Nuff said. I will say more, their free weights and cable machines are on different floors, so good luck with super-​setting. They only have doubles of each DB so if someone about your strength is working out at the same time, you have to wait. There is zero room. Zero room. Impossible to walk between someone at the EZ curl bar rack and the hyperextension apparatus, let alone deadlift. There are always between 6 – 12 people in the tiny weight lifting room, which is only slightly larger than most hotel gyms, and that is about 5 too many to comfortably work out.
The customer service is beyond terrible. I have been trying to get someone to talk to me about the above problems for the past 3 months and no one will respond to my emails.
If you are paying for a pool, group classes, babysitting. I don’t know, then maybe it is fine, but over $ 100 for two people to fight for a few lousy weights? No way. I’m done.

A great place to exercise. The place is so so clean. From the lobby to the bathroom. I go there for swimming and they have a newly renovated large pool. All staffs are so friendly and the place is welcoming.

I used this Y one time when I was visiting NYC recently. It was a brutally hot day and I wanted to have a short swim to cool off and get some exercise. The large pool was the perfect temperature for lap swim, not too cold and not warm like bath water. As an out of town Y member, I was allowed to use the facilities as a guest, and they even let my friend in as a guest without paying… the staff were very nice and accommodating.
Steam and sauna facilities were both good but small. Showers and locker room seemed clean and well-​kept. If I lived in that area, I would make this my home-​base gym. Good job!

It’s your friendly neighborhood YMCA.
Not an out of the world workout experience, but all the machines you want are there. Personally, I just frequent the cardio/​weight room on 2^nd floor. It’s clean, towels, and wipes are provided.
Staff is always SUPER nice. Upon checking in with your membership card, you are greeted with a warm welcome and smile.
An adequate place to get your sweat on :)
Children’s an adults classes provided.

I come here to use cardio and weight machines plus a few free weights, and the Y is very well-​equipped with all three. Occasionally I run on the track, which is tiny but gets the job done. Bottom line, this is a great gym with more than everything you need to reach any fitness goals. (Yes, I’m aware this is far from the literal bottom line of this review…)
At peak times (weekday early evenings, weekend late mornings) there can be a short wait for treadmills, but not nearly as bad as at some other gyms I’ve used.
I guess – as some here are saying – the rank-​and-​file staff are a little undertrained and indifferent, but this hasn’t presented any problems for me. I only ever interact with them when I hand over my key fob to scan at the front desk.
A star comes off because as at least a couple of others here have experienced, the billing department has this borderline-​sleazy policy of *immediately* hitting you with «service charges» if your auto-​billed credit card gets declined (because, for example, you lost it and had it reissued with a new number).
I’m tempted to take another star off for the obnoxious form letter they snail mail you to let you know when this happens, the tone of which is more on par with a collection agency’s third letter to a delinquent deadbeat defaulting on six figures of debt.
The Y is wrong — or, at best, WAY behind the times — in doing all this. Take the thirty seconds to call or e-​mail and politely let long-​time members know they need to update their card information… and stop trying to pick their pockets of money that I highly doubt is a significant revenue source.
Of the 25+ businesses with whom I keep or have kept credit cards on file for auto-​billing, the Y is the ONLY one that doesn’t e-​mail or call with a courtesy notice the first time a newly-​cancelled card gets declined.
Really curious as to their justification for doing this (which they wouldn’t give me when I asked directly… I got the old «It’s just our policy», *shrug*).
I should note that they did waive the silly charge when I insisted… «but only this one time.»
Real bottom line: I’ll try to be more on top of my administrative to-​do list next time I get a credit card re-​issued, but if this situation ever plays out again I’ll definitely be switching gyms.

5 stars for facilty and –2 star for the membership office staff.
Great new aquatic center — 1 new large pool and 1 old small pool. I came during the week for lap swimming. Rarely need to wait for a lane.
Office staff made up of kids that need service training. Ie. Customer comes in, stop talking to your work friend and greet the customer. They have no problem with you awkwardly standing there while they finish their conversation about nothing work related. Mind you, there are 3 of them sitting at the desk facing the entrance of the office doorway.

Nice facilities, as others have said, and handy location. Staff is disinterested in members to an extreme, which is a little goofy, but whatever. It wasn’t clear on the web site, but they do have locker rooms with showers (also steam room and sauna), so you could go here before work.

I generally like the facilities, especially the new pool, which is very nice. Staff help around the machines is lacking slightly, and you’re mostly on your own. I didn’t receive a formal tour of the complex when I signed up, so I had to learn the lay of the land myself. This turned out to be fine, but I would have liked some guidance.
I really came on Unilocal to see if anyone commented on the availability of showers after morning classes. With only five showers in the women’s locker room, I’m concerned about making it to work on time after 6:15am Spin. If anyone can share their experience, I’d greatly appreciate it.
All in all, I (as a moderate exerciser) would recommend this gym.

Pros:
Spin classes are amazing depending on the instructor
Total body is really good class again depending on the instructor
Kick boxing is absolutely amazing. You have I try this class!!!
Cons: you have to get their Half hour early to get tickets to the class
Ellipticals are always taken so you have to wait in line

I was trying to think of something I dislike about this place but I don’t.
Brand new locker rooms, fairly new and very clean equipments, friendly staff, great classes (I love Gwen for bootcamps and total body conditioning !) and I must add, very few kids to be seen, which is a plus for a lot of people, including me !
You got it, the South Slope YMCA is all you want in a gym !

I love this place. Staff here are friendly and laid back. The classes here are great; enthusiastic instructors with a wide selection to choose from (spinning, bootcamp, yoga, zumba, dance, etc.) The gym is well kept and clean and they provide towels. There are lots of cardio machines (treadmill, elliptical, bikes, etc) and I’ve never had an issue with getting a machine, but some of the machines definitely need to be repaired. Most of the machines are equipped with cable tv.
The only thing that I was not a fan of here was the adult swimming class. The class enrollment is maxed way above what the small size of the pool can handle. My class enrollment should have maxed out at 12, but on the first day, 18 people showed up. I immediately dropped because I felt I wasn’t getting what I needed out of the class.
Other than the swimming class, I’ve been really happy with my membership at the YMCA!

I used to be a member of this YMCA. I quit because of their archaic billing practices, unhelpful customer support, and an unwillingness to be reasonable. I had a credit card stolen, so I cancelled the card. Standard practice. However, I forgot that my membership to the Y was a recurring bill on this card. When it came time to pay my bill, they told me my card was denied and then charged me a late fee.
Also, the men’s shower area is pretty gross, and a friend of mine had things stolen from his locked locker.

The Park Slope YMCA serves a fairly affluent neighborhood, and its appropriately well kept. The equipment rooms aren’t terribly large, the cardio machines take up the bulk of the space, while the weight room is a bit of an afterthought. There are group fitness students on the first, and second floors, as well as a running track and a pool. They’re also in the process of building an entirely new annex for a new pool, which should be ready in 2013. Locker rooms have saunas and steam rooms, but the one time I checked them out I felt like it was a little less clean than I would’ve liked and wasn’t very comfortable. The locker rooms are large and have showers, blow dryers/​swimsuit dryers/​scales, and big and small lockers.
Although the equipment spaces aren’t’ that large, they never seem to be overwhelmed and I’ve always had a pretty easy time finding a machine, except maybe on a Saturday. One other note about Saturday, is that it seems to be kids swim day, so watch out for the 100 rugrats running around and the parents who never fold up their strollers blocking the entrance. My favorite part of this Y is the Group Fitness classes. They have a great variety, very good instructors, and offerings every day of the week.