Hansborough Recreation Center – NYC Parks Dept.

This is a review of the Harlem Center. Just off of 135 st. And Lenox. The staff is rude and there is a really terrible cross-​dressing man who wears women’s clothes at night to a certain gay club in NY who works in the computer room during the day. There are a few people who are nice but although I have nothing against gay people I do not think you should bring your children here to sit around this Caucasian man at this historical Harlem, center., I only put «Not suitable for children» if you are leaving them at this center. Some of the younger workers look like child molesters, especially the one in the computer room who I once caught watching pornography on his computer.

I like this gym gets the job done, the equipment is in good condition and they have a swimming pool works for me.

I cancelled my membership at the YMCA, since I was only using the pool occasionally there. As a swimmer, I am in love with the pool and sunlight view at Hansborough. The fitness center is nothing to write home about, but the pool is top quality for the membership price. Most importantly to me, the community is wonderful! I have been living in Harlem for only two years, so it is nice to be in a space full of Harlemites.

I was there recently for a friendly swim meet for Harlem Week, nice and clean but it needs to be renovated badly it been around a long time and the staff are doing a great job in keeping it together but the windows are falling off the hinges the heat was on in the pool area so it made thing very uncomfortable as well as the pool water it needs a upgrade ASAP so it can continue to serve the community

This Rec center is 20 min (walking) away from my job, so the location is good. locker room is clean, secure. showers are nice, but I would prefer a larger shower curtain, one that actually goes across the whole rod and provides privcay and protects your decency. However, «too-​short Curtains» are a problem all rec centers have I believe. The gym is big, and the weight room is indeed a WEIGHT room, You want cardio? head upstairs. My only real compliant is the people in the weight room at times. Macho, hypermasculine men who swear and constantly discuss conspiracy theories about how the White Man is holding the Black Man down. Please, take that somewhere else. If you don’t mind a bare bones weight room/​fitness setup, or the obnoxious guys, this is a good gym.

I like this rec center because the locker rooms are renovated with tall lockers and the cardio room with machines and free weights room are separate. They are rooms vs. large open spaces so it feels more comfortable.
There are no small free weights in the weight room on the 2^nd floor. I think the smallest I saw was 15 lbs. The cardio room on the 4^th floor has 5 – 6 treadmills, only 2 ellipticals, variety of weight machines, and various types of bike machines. There are some small free weights in a milk crate by the staff office in the cardio room.
I usually go during off-​peak hours and it’s not crowded. Typically 5 – 6 people working out in the cardio room.
I use the rec centers because it’s $ 75 for adult membership for 6 months and provides the basic equipment I need to workout. Can’t beat that for the price.
This center has an indoor heated pool. Also a basketball court, track above the court, a dance/​class studio, and computer room.
Some staff are friendly, most are indifferent.
Out of other rec centers I’ve been to, I’d give this 4 stars. But at a broader level across gyms, 3 stars because it provides basics and no frills.

Any place that opens its doors to volunteer work, is minimally OK in my book.
A few minutes before volunteering at the computer center, I took a tour of the facilities and was impressed. I just saw the Gym, basketball court and pool, and they looked nice. However, I didn’t actually try anything other than the computer rooms, but from my experience, it was great.

Took some free zumba classes and belly classes, free work out from 9 – 11! how can you beat that, Ingrid the dance instructor was amazing, it was a lot of fun, you can tell the clients are women trying to get healthy so everyone was motivated and there was a high level of energy and it was a lot of fun; it’s located in Harlem, across from my workplace which is unfortunate because it reminds me of work, but hey you cant beat free, my classmates were all friendly and the front desk guy was very friendly and helpful 4 thumbs up if I had 4 hands! It’s an old building and you can feel how the history was and how it probably housed so many people before me. great taste of old New York too. I really love old historic buildings, not like these shiny new modern, gyms, this center has character; kind of like comparing an old historic brownstone to a shiny personality –less high rise, if you get my gist; I missed the 830am zumba, so literally you can spend all day just doing all these free classes; great community service ot help people get fit

I was 11-​years old when I learned to swim here and ended up setting two varsity swimming records at the State University of New York at Albany. In those days, we children called it this place «the Bath-​House.»
I initially wanted to give this place Four Stars, but from reading the other reviews, it sounds like it has grown to more than just a place to swim. Now, I’m giving it five stars.

I took a tour of this facility and for someone who just needs a place to work out for $ 75/​yr this is the spot. There is an indoor pool in the facility, a dance studio and a weight room (located on the 4^th floor. Elevator available). There are about 3 ellipticals, bikes and treadmills. I went after work and the place was packed but there were some cardio machines available (not sure if they were functional or not.) The equipment is not new and really it is bare bones but it will give you a decent workout for the money.

The NYC Parks Department maintains a bunch of recreation centers in the city that are often refered to as City Gyms. These include Community Centers, Field Houses, and Nature Centers and offer services such as indoor pools, weight rooms, basketball courts, dance studios, boxing rings, art studios, game rooms and libraries.
The Hansborough center is mostly a gym/​sport destination (though they are opening a computer room soon). I go here to work out — lifting weights, cardio on the machines, walking on the track, and sometimes swimming. They have a few classes and offer some after school stuff for kids. I don’t know how crowded this place gets on evenings and weekends since I come in the middle of the day, but it seems well-​used and therefore well kept. Plus, it’s in a historic part of Harlem.
The best thing is the price. $ 50/​year for most centers, $ 75/​year for ones with a pool. If you get a membership to one, you can visit ANY rec center in the system in any of the 5 boroughs.
If you’re looking for a place to work out and have basic needs, then a City Gym is a good choice. This one in particular if you live uptown. They’re not all this nice, and the one in Chelsea is rumored to be even nicer. I’d do some investigating to see if the center near you is a place you’d spend time.
If you come here, don’t be fooled by the 134^th street address. What you want to do is walk east along 135^th (if you’re coming from the B/​C or ²⁄₃ stations) until you come to Lennox Terrace apartment complex (just east of Malcolm X Blvd./Lennox Ave.). You’ll see a little street that runs behind the building along the parking lot. Turn in there. The Rec center is on the left on a tiny strip of street labeled, helpfully, 134^th. Don’t confuse it with the Joseph Kennedy rec center at the end of the street.