Empire Fitness

Do not sign up here whatever you do. The gym is definitely closing because the owner can’t afford to pay his employees. There are no classes and the facilities are not great. You are better off going to LA fitness if you want a cheap gym with only machines. Avoid at all costs!

Joined Downtown Fitness in January of this year, as of April or May the owner had sold and the place was renamed Empire Fitness. Shortly after that the pool heater broke, «the part is on order» was the response we members received for weeks, until I finally gave up planning to swim at the gym that I joined specifically because they had a pool.
A few weeks ago I went in and the employees were there, but not working, and informed each of the members coming in that they had not been paid in almost 4 weeks. The next day the gym closed and remained closed for 4 more days. In New York State this situation– all gym facilities and services being inaccessible– voids the contract. After the gym reopened that Friday (with all new employees, as the previous ones decided to move on) I called to verify my contract was null and void. The owner answered and at first started to argue, I’m sure he has probably gotten an awful lot of shit for the shenanigans his company has pulled, whether unintentional or not, and is probably sick of it. After a few minutes speaking to him and explaining my situation he agreed (although somewhat gruffly), and said he «deleted my credit card information». This was obviously not the case, as I was charged again a week or two later– TWICE. I’ve contested the charges and contacted Empire Fitness again, at which point the owner assured me it was a mistake and that his payment department was in the process of issuing me a refund.
Although this new owner has been relatively composed and professional in his personal interactions with me, his actual actions (or lack there of) and/​or those of his company have been a demonstration of chaos and incompetence. The most common piece of advice given to me by friends and strangers during this fiasco: «Skip the drama next time and stay with the big corporate gyms.» and at this point, I think I concur.

I was a member of DFC before Empire, and what a change!
While the staff was always friendly, approachable, and never made you feel stupid, the «new owner» was the exact opposite.
First, promises made were never kept — pool closures due to «chemical imbalances» and «repairs» lasted weeks, several machines broke down and were removed and not replaced or repaired, and the cleaning of the place seemed nonexistent.
Second, many of the friendly staff I had come to rely on for help were replaced with less experienced people who didn’t give you the time of day unless you were buff (which I am not).
I chose DFC because I was obese and I had many health problems, and when I stopped in to see Justin M. he was respectful, and gave me great guidance. Tom S. was a huge motivator for me when I tried yoga for the first time. So much so, that I fell in love with yoga and continue to practice and attend classes. While under DFC, I was able to lose 80# with the help of many of their instructors and trainers.
Empire has nothing on the old DFC — they are snobbish, have bad attitudes, and are rude to people trying to make changes in life toward better health.
After the fiasco with the abrupt closure, I will never return there. Instead, I am taking my business to Harro East where those wonderful instructors and trainers chose to go.
Here is a tip to that owner — don’t drive business away to make a quick buck! Good business owners are open when they say they are open, and in a service field such as gyms, closing machines and pool is disaster.
P. S. A bit of mopping and some bleach goes a long way — try cleaning the place sometime!

Currently this photo is on the door of Empire Fitness
The new management is accused of not paying its employees, and now my membership which was supposed to extend through 2016 is seemingly over. No email correspondence, no warning, no way to seek reimbursement.
If you see any other Empire Fitness locations I’d recommend steering clear of them.

This is the new gym/​management that has taken over for the previous Downtown Fitness Center. I spoke with the new general manager (Chris) and what I heard from him and it seems like they want to make some major changes here. I have always liked the location because it’s centrally located in downtown Rochester, NY however, having to park in the garage about 200 feet away was a deterrent.