I have been a member at the Prospect Park YMCA since 2021, and this has got to be the most poorly managed YMCA I have ever been to. I stayed a member for so long because it's a convenient walk from my house, but I recently left here to join the Life Time and I couldn't be happier. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly from my experience. The good: The pool. You really cannot get this anywhere else in/around Park Slope. That said, it is often crowded, with 4+ swimmers per lane, and the swim lane etiquette is not the best. They have lanes divided by speed - low, low/medium, medium, and fast - but basically I've found there is one fast lane, and all of the rest are slow. It feels like the fast-lane users are either former Olympic / Masters level swimmers, so I have to be in this awful position where I'm getting passed all the time in the fast lane, yet people get angry with me for going too fast in the other lanes. That's just my experience though. The bad: The free weight room. Basically, everything is overcrowded, and the etiquette is horrible. The free weight room has ONE power rack, which is insane for such a large gym. This is compounded by the hoards of teenagers that camp at the gym during peak time, sometimes leading to long queues to use any of the equipment. And the etiquette is some of the worst I have seen. People leave weights lying around on the floor or haphazardly put plates back wherever they feel, leading to a ton of clutter and general chaos. There is usually an attendant in the free weight room, yet they do absolutely nothing. Generally, the staff sucks. They do not greet you and just generally seem disinterested except when they are talking amongst themselves. The ugly: The locker rooms are just horrendous. Everything is filthy with dust everywhere. The lockers are super outdated, busted and rusting all over. There are often cockroaches in the dry sauna. But the worst is the showers. I think that was the final straw for me. It genuinely feels like a prison shower in that half the shower curtains are missing, and I even saw a bunch of blood on one of them. The ceiling is covered in mold; they don't even bother to paint over it. I don't need much, but I at least expect a clean and pest-free locker room. The state of it is shameful honestly. There is also no towel service, which is insane for how much you pay. Meanwhile, Harbor Fitness has towels, and the membership there is $76/month. All of this would be fine out of a low-cost, no-frills gym, but the cost of the regular individual membership is $96 per month, which is just out of line. The value is practically non-existent. They will also try to scam you when you try to cancel, saying there is a 15-day notice period, despite that being against the law in NYS. Bottom line, do yourself a favor and don't join this gym. read more

I have been a loyal patron of this gym for about ~3ish years but only recently started taking my membership seriously in the past year and started going here regularly. This gym is the best gym in the area by miles and I thoroughly enjoy my workouts here. Yoga classes are super fun, I love the instructors and unlike a lot of other gyms this place is truly home to a community. I enjoy seeing people of all ages and walks of life work out here, it's truly amazing and representative of the neighborhood. The high schoolers can be super annoying in the weight room and I know the staff has worked to curb their rowdiness by assigning them specific hours. I've heard a lot about towel service that used to be here but I've never experienced it, that would be nice to have back. The steam room and sauna are an absolute God send in the locker rooms and I really enjoy that the large pool has been segmented to avoid conflict with other swimmers. I've noticed if anything is out of order it doesn't stay that way for too long which I absolutely love. It's understandable in a big facility like this things will go out of order but maintenance is definitely on top of everything and deserves a shout out. It used to annoy me that the gym closed early but they definitely listened and extended their hours recently till 10 PM which I also greatly appreciate!! read more

Terrible the people in the front desk are so rude and unprofessional. Had problems scanning in because they tried to say my image wasn't me when it was clearly me awful reception and front desk. read more

This branch is by far the most crowded and worst maintained - women's locker room is literally disgusting rusty broken lockers everything js broken the elevator hasn't worked for months! The pools are insanely overcrowded with no room for adults or seniors to swim on weekends is js dedicated to money making not serving the community read more

Came here Faded to hoop but it got so crowded with kids that I had to leave. Was pretty valid when it wasn't crowded tho

This place is huge. I went on a day pass and did laps in the pool. The big pool is great, wonderful for laps. It was busy but not busy enough that you had to wait to get in! Make sure you bring a swim cap, it's required for the pool. The only down side is this place is a bit of a maze, and to get to the big pool from the locker room you have to go down some stairs, and there isn't super clear signage! People were helpful in directions though. read more

Want to warn the ppl of color that this is a majority yt place in one of the ytest neighborhoods in NYC. The number of times I have been yelled at by Karens and Chads for things like 1) not stopped for them threading their way thru treadmills to give them the right of way when you are walking on the path, 2) not "announcing" yourself when you join a swim lane, 3) instead of following the rule to keep right (also universal driving rules in the US), not following their arbitrary rules of splitting the swim lanes, and more ridiculousness--just remember even tho we are on stolen land, they will make it a point to go out of their way to tell you, you don't belong. -- a POC in Park Slope read more

I live at this gym most days. I will preface and say I understand that this isn't the most innovative or modern of gyms and that it's not catered to a super hip clientele. But the trade off comes in the form of well-rounded people who are motivated to maintain good health and a true community. Facilities - Again this isn't the most modern of gyms or YMCAs I've visited. That said, the equipments work for most part. As a perk to a slightly older or family orientated crowd, if you're a big muscle trainer person weights room is generally empty and you can in fact use them. The yoga mats could use some upgrading but it's wonderful that they provide blankets (this isn't even standard in most yoga studios). I find the towel service (which is included and I was shocked to find out this is not consistently provided in all Y) to be always on point and absolutely clean. Locker rooms are generally not super crowded. Ladies have hairdryers at their disposal & the sauna and steam rooms are rarely jam packed. Showers (except immediately after the water classes) are also generally free. Oh and people are respectfully following the kids/family vs adult locker room separation. The one thing I did wish was sorted out is the small pool which has been shut since October. Dear Y if you're reading this is there anything your patrons and members can do to fundraise to get this fixed? It's really discouraged me from aqua exercises because I can barely hear instructors in the large pool and inversely it's really painful as a swimmer to have limited lanes. This 2 pool bit is what I was sold on when I signed up! Classes - There's rarely a time I've not been able to get into a class (and the hot ticket items will in fact be ticketed, so definitely consult the front desk). Some of my favorites are Gwen's Spin (early but a great start to your day and it's very empty), Juanita's TRX (tough but worthit full body workout), Buffy's Zumba (her energy, music choice and the self-love she embodies encourage a very fun grp of people to attend week on week), Frank's Iyengar (you'll be amazed at how postures that seemingly impossible are achievable thanks to his method), Grace's Vinyasa (beautiful Vinyasa practice and great posture corrections), and Lilka's PiYo (amazing core work out with great music). read more

I purchased a family membership with sole purpose of using the pool. I tried to reserve s spot after school hours for family swim. It is always full. I try reserving a spot exactly 48 hours in advance and the app will say full join the waitlist.I tried on three different days. Are other members given preference? At his point, Y membership is a scam if I am not able to get a spot for family swim. read more

I joined only a few months ago and I have mixed feelings. The first time I stepped into the locker rooms I was appalled! That's a kind word to describe what and how I saw it! People have zero etiquette, regardless if you live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city. Let's just leave it here. The staff is okaaaayyy. Just looks extremely bored when you have a question, otherwise they looks cheerful when they are chitchatting amongst each other. The icing on the cake is the pilates class every Wednesday. Whether you come an hour early, 40 minutes or thirty to fifteen minutes early to get the ticket for pilates class, you won't be given any; citing 'it's too early to pick tickets' to 'sorry they are all gone' respectively. That makes me wonder how all the white ladies got their tickets in the first place? Let me point out, Everytime it was the same girl handing out tickets. Yes, I feel there is a subtle racism, which most people with privelege won't understand, that is the majority of the members there. I will give it a couple more months and see if I want to continue. read more

I signed up at the Y after a miserable year at the terrible NYSC down the block, and have largely been happy with my choice over the last four months. In fact, I had been downright delighted until the last month or so during the summer, when I came a couple of afternoons and realized...oh dear god... children--the bane of Park Slope existence! I kid, I kid... mostly. I knew what I was signing up for in this neighborhood, but the gym is my form of therapy, and most are exclusively adult-only, so it was jarring at first, and evading children in the lobby darting around on their scooters or wandering aimlessly staring at devices is just something I'm not accustomed to in a gym setting. Don't get me wrong, as a gym, the Y is a solid offering. The equipment is new and modern, and the gym is well-kept and clean. There is definitely a bit of a space issue, particularly in the weight rooms, as they try to cram as many machines as possible into this large but unwieldy space, but it ultimately works. The classes are surprising standouts--the spin class on Monday evening with Daniel is quite good, and the (admittedly not the most convenient) Friday evening spin with Miranda is one of the best I've ever taken. There is also a great TRX class on Thursday evening that can be tough to get into. And while I've rarely used the pool, it feels like a luxurious workout option to have in the gym world. This is definitely a good gym option--even if during the summer I have to go out of my way to visit in the (more adult-friendly) evenings. read more

Sigh. We haven't been back here for AGES for the reasons I described in my prior review, but today I stopped in to update my card which had expired and to see if they've made any improvements that would justify continuing our family membership. I asked the blonde kid at the front some specific questions about the small pool situation and whether they had done anything about getting staff to answer the phones and also whether they were adequately staffing their child watch such that members could actually use it. He gave me some vague assurances and I was thinking "Eh- ok- maybe we'll give it another shot." But I took the opportunity to let him know that I hesitated because of our past experiences. I said, "I'm sure you know that you guys don't have the best reputation and there are lots of ongoing issues." Do you know how he responded? "Gotcha." Hahahahaha! No, seriously. Not, "I'm sorry you've had that experience with our facility." Not, "I know that and we're working hard to fix it." Not, "We value our members and I can relay your concerns to the appropriate parties." Nope, it was "Gotcha." So finally fed up with handing hard-earned money over to a bunch of indifferent dunces, I said, "Nah, I think we're done here, let's just cancel." WHO is training these people? It's not like the YMCA is some free service staffed by a bunch of long-suffering volunteers. They're not doing us some great favor by letting us use the facilities, though it's certainly how they act. I don't need anyone to bend over backward for me, but come on- a longtime member just expressed some pretty serious concerns and you can't summon anything other than "Gotcha" to indicate that you've actually heard what I'm trying to tell you and that you care even a little bit? My husband has been urging me to cancel the membership for YEARS, and when I think of the thousands and thousands of dollars we have spent between membership dues, kid classes, regular swim classes and private swim classes, I really wish I'd listened sooner. I can't tell you how many conversations I have had over the years with other people who have had similar experiences. They are just consistently and unapologetically awful. On the upside I stopped into Beast Fitness on the way home and they were lovely. I'll split my money between them and Bend and Bloom from now on. read more

I used to love this Y for the pool and group fitness classes, but they cut their amenities & hours in half during COVID without adjusting the expensive membership. They have only a handful of classes now (at inconvenient times), they close earlier than any other gym I've ever heard of (3PM on the weekend!!), there's no steam room or sauna, and no towels. Absolutely not worth the $$$ since they now don't really offer anything more than you'd find at one of the budget gyms. 2 years after the start of the pandemic it looks like they won't go back to their old services or hours so I canceled my membership. read more

This is the YMCA so temper your expectations but for the price it's a great deal.

I finally joined the Y here to take swim lessons and so far it's been great. Being an ex-member of Crunch and NYSC, this place has VERY reasonable membership/ class prices. $150 for non member fee for 8 weeks of swim instruction. Though my instructor has a bit of an attitude, the instruction is spot on and I managed to swim pretty well after just one class - I just hope I get rythmic breathing down. I always pass by the studio and notice a lot of people taking classes, so it must be pretty good as well. Lockers are good sized, but wear slippers to the shower/ pool. I used to come here 10 years ago and I wonder if the racket ball room on the roof is still open... Edit: Has a sauna AND a steam room. Like wow! read more

Talk about ying and yang, the Prospect Park Y offers some of the best and some of the most frustrating things to write about! On the plus side (is that ying or yang?), the majority of people who work at this Y are extraordinary friendly and knowledgeable. The facility is kept quite clean. There is excellent programing and the variety of exercise equipment is commendable. In fact my first Y membership was the one where you go to any Y and this one quickly became my favorite in terms of location, convenience and feeling welcomed. On the other side...after talking to the club manager in person one day, I applied for a job. This was about 8 years ago. Although I was a Y member, I never had the courtesy of a reply to my resume or my phone messages. Makes me wonder how people who do not have a connection there are treated when the apply. Hey if you did not have an opening that is fine, but have the common courtesy to say so! More recently they suddenly decided, after years of doing so, to not give AARP discounts next year. So while others who work for "the right" companies or are in the "right" union will get a discount, I no longer will. Also they have been building a new swimming pool - which rumor has it they began during the Civil War - C'mon guys either finish the pool or bag the project! And finally repairs to the athletic equipment, track, sauna, steam room and TV/I-pod on the machines are not always completed as quickly as they should be. Still all said and done, because of their staff and cleanliness, they are still my favorite Y! read more

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! read more

I really hope i live nearby then I can come here more than 3 times a week. Luckily it is on my way home. I swear the check in machine hates me. I usually take a few tries to get in. My review will extend to the weigh room, shower, few classes and locker room because those are all i used. Locker room is divided into boy and men which is funny and logical to me I guess. I bet this is the same for the women. I get there around 6 PM and it's super empty with plenty of space to change and shower for the work out. the classes are pretty basic but it does a few things. They get your heart moving, you breathe faster and sweat a little. I like the weight room. There are two available. Machine weight is upstairs and it's usually empty. Free weight can be packed on monday night and maybe tuesday night. Wednesday to Friday you can have the whole place to yourself. Saturday and Sunday is normal. I love the sauna and the steam room. So far after 2 months, the sauna is out for a week or so. I really enjoy the steam room thou. They are never packed. btw free towel service. read more

I used to go to the pool at this gym, nice pool but very poorly managed, water is not clean most of the time and not organized with lane swimming. But the main reason for the 1 Star is with the reopening after covid, they are scamming people, there's no way you can reserve a spot in the pool, once reservation opens 48 hours in advance all spots are taken, literally in one second. A word to the Y management, if you wanna scam people and pretend that members could get a spot at the pool, just say it, don't pretend it's open!!! or you reserve it for who knows!!! Wasting people's time this way is really lame. read more

I used to love this Y but unfortunately, I think it's increasingly poorly managed (as other reviewers have pointed out). They recently shut off access at a variety of times several days a week to the one quiet spot in the gym with a soft floor and a bit of privacy for stretching. This is also the only area for indoor track, a punching bag and a hip flexor machine. All those are off-limits because one level downstairs, there's a mind/body class, and management is worried that participants will be disturbed by...the sound of someone running on a track or using a machine? Makes no sense. Before that, management shut down a room they had for stretching that now is used for storing old furniture and equipment. Despite a big renovation some years back, the weight room remains tiny and is often overcrowded. So, it's a once-great place that seems to be going downhill due to bad management. read more

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. read more

I will only comment on the part of the YMCA that I have actually used which is the basketball courts. Overall this gym seems like a really nice place. Had a very retro feel and I am sure is better than most NYSC clubs due to crowd constraints, stuff like that. I was here for a BBall tournament kind of a while back. Congrats to me though, my team won the whole thing. We got some trophies and all that. We were supposed to get some kind of cash prize too, then the sponsors of the tournament went all SNK VS CAPCOM 2 on us and made my team play the super all star team of former College Divison I players. We got smacked so that found their way to not give us that money. I was kinda pissed but I mean we did beat all teams we were supposed to beat. read more

I used to love the Y at this branch for the group classes, swimming, child service, towel, and sauna/steam. Since the pandemic, the management is really bad. Agree with the other reviewer that it's been 2yrs into the pandemic and they are not planning to go back. Very limited group classes and scheduled in inconvenient time (not favorable for someone works full time schedule). Sauna/steam/towel services are still down. For the amount of $$$ they charging, they should work on being up more group classes and reopening the sauna/steam with safety guidelines/protocols. read more

Scheduling Family Swim time during Covid is especially frustrating when you have a child in need of satisfying his sensory diet. Understandably, Covid has been rough on many institutions but after having my membership on hold during the pandemic somehow their system automatically billed me. I hope once restrictions lifted will bring all to usual form. read more

Staff is much better trained versus the last time I wrote my review. Machines are up to date and the large pool is awesome. Showers can be a little gross with hair, but a woman cleans throughout the day. Lots of cardio machines and some fun ones that you would not find at other gyms like a lateral elliptical machine or an excercise bike with a video game option. Gym is always clean and there's staff everywhere. Weight machines are clean and up to date (I've never been in the free weights room, but they have a separate room for that). Heavy boxing bag is available 24/7 by the indoor running track. Mutiple studios for classes and an indoor basketball court. This gym really has everything you need. Most ppl that hear the Y think it's supposed to be a budget gym, but it actually costs more per month than NYSC....in my opinion it's well worth the money because it's clean, up to date, and includes just about anything you might want from a gym. read more

Sometimes, you just have to resign yourself to certain facts, and accept that you are in a particular phase of life. And for me, that phase is the phase where you join the YMCA. I tried to hold on to my membership at Harbor Fitness for as long as I could, but one winter, after trudging through snow and slush for 20 min in miserable cold, I resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably go to the gym more if it were just 10 min away instead of 20. So I switched. I no longer have that guilty feeling of flushing money down the toilet every month, and I'm healthier for it. Plus you know... I get to give DeBlasio the evil eye every now and then. read more

It gets the job done depending on what you are looking for, but not my favorite gym. Limited machines and free weight section and it gets very, very crowded during peak hours. Facilities are fine, but the price is a little high (although seems to be the going rate) given the amenities and size of the gym. Although I don't use them, there are 2 pools which is definitely a plus if you are looking for a swim. read more

what everyone else said. The only downside are all the goddamn babies, I don't know how bad that sounded but don't take any offense to it, I just can't handle the crying. oh yeah and some of the women let it ALL hang loose in the locker room. I remember the first time I saw another woman just standing there in the locker room with literally NO clothes on in front of the mirror. Just walking around. I saw her pubes. I don't know if it's because I'm an extremely awkward teenager but that sight made me extremely uncomfortable. read more

I joined this YMCA after being a member of the local NYSC and not really liking it there. The first thing that stands out to me is that this place is for everyone, like a YMCA should be. The Cardio equipment is is very serviceable and, as of this writing, they are replacing all of the treadmills and ellipticals with brand new machines. They have already updated the circuit training room with newer machines as well. If I have a complaint (besides the naked old dudes in the locker room) it's that the free weight room is in the basement while the cardio equipment is on the second floor. This puts a hamper in my weight training since I like to jump from building up a sweat right to lifting. Since there is so much separation I tend to skip the weight training. For the price, in Park Slope, this place can't be beat. Add the fact that your membership money helps to find a great organization and you have a winner. read more

"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! read more

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. read more

Be it ever so humble, I love my Y! And I hope he knows it, despite the fact that I tend to visit him a lot less frequently than I should. But belonging to the Y made it relatively painless for me to join a gym last spring--the fact that my hard earned money is going to a non-profit org that in addition to providing me with top-notch fitness facilities also helps the community in many other ways, rather than some soulless company that preys on people's insecurities helped me take the plunge; not to mention that the cost is among the most reasonable i've ever heard of--if you sign up with someone that you live with (roommate or otherwise) it's only $90 a month for both of you. The cardio room is pretty big, chock full of all sorts of machines with personal tvs (some even get HBO!) that they frequently rearrange so that they can fit more in. It's clean, brightly and pleasantly painted and full of windows. My fellow Y-goers are courteous and diverse in their fitness levels. There's also a pool and an array of classes that I've yet to take advantage of, but maybe one day I'll get my act together to do so. In short, I'm a fan. If you're looking for a place to help you keep your new year's resolution in mid-Slope, look no further. read more

This place only loses a star because the wait list for the kit lockers. They have everything and more (pool!) than the NYSC a half block down the street for about half the price. (Ask about their discounts too!) I love my Y. I bet it's fun to stay there. You can hang out with all the boys. read more

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. read more

I've been a member of this Y for 6 years, mostly because it's got a pool. Although the cardio equipment is swapped out often for newer versions, the rest of the facilities have deteriorated badly. Whereas there used to be a stretch room, that is now used for private paid sessions. Members are given a small area of floor space to stretch where the treadmills are and where people walk - not inviting at all! The womwn's sauna is, I'm sure, in violation of health regulations. Water leaks in from the adjacent steam room. So staff put towels on the floor to sop it up. The water also gets absorbed into the wood walls, which are starting to rot as a result. The air in the sauna is damp because of all this, not dry as it should be. The shower room smells like dirty dishwater; it's disgusting! And no wonder: more towels on the floor under the rubber mats, soaking up water and probably generating mold. To add to this, a broken bench was never replaced so there's not enough benches to use when changing. Now that chilly weather is here the conditions in the cardio and weight rooms are kept much too warm, making it difficult to have a comfortable workout. Members complain about these issues but nothing is ever done. If it weren't for the pool I'd leave this dump!! read more

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. read more

I switch from the Armory brunch to the big on 9th St that always seemed to be cleaner and well organized And this is my 3rd week going there. Unfortunately, I have to say, people are pigs, seriously, leaving dirty towels all over and not even cleaning the machines after they use it. Today I was said by a man "if you don't like it sweated you can clean it yourself" but that was not the worse. The worse is that even the crew working on the floor today was justifying the attitude not only of that man but also of anyone who just doesn't clean anything and they told me exactly that "well, do it yourself" , And another member - a woman I only saw twice- told me "cut off your shit" when she saw me talking to the crew member about it. I was like WOW. I am very disappointed, to say the least, and I agree with someone else commenting on this thread, who train these people? And what happened to common courtesy? Park Slope? no, this is not Park Slope no more, but a strange land full of people who has no idea what community and respect means. read more

Not bad! I had a gym membership when I lived in the area and I liked it specially for the $44/month student gym membership i was paying. (Some employers offer the same discount, ask them if yours does). Gym membership includes, assistance with equipment (somewhat personal training), group classes, 6 guest passes and discount to everything else. They have a pool but classes for that are separate. Most machines have a personal TV (they work most of the time). I hardly made it to the classes but the Yoga was good. They were expanding bringing in more equipment when I left the gym a few months ago so I assume it's much bigger now. It's worth it and cheaper than others in the area. read more

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. read more

I'm taking my rating down by one star for 2 reasons. The first is that I pay a lot of money for a kit locker and there is a sign in the locker room that clearly states that if you use one of those lockers without renting it the lock will be clipped. This never happens - instead every few months I see a sign on those lockers saying that you have to pay for these lockers and they give the offender weeks to "clear out". Why aren't they clipped right away? All those offenders do is use another empty kit locker so they get it for free for another few months. This is very unfair to those of us who actually pay to rent these lockers The second is that they have an app but they only post messages when they feel like it. For example you get there and there's a sign that the pool is closed but there is no notification on the app. Another time they posted a message that there was no hot water. I go to the gym first thing in the am so I looked on the app and there was no update. So I called the gym and had to wait 10 minutes while the nice person at the front desk checked for me. Yes the hot water was back on but there was never an update on the app. What is the point of the app if it's only updated when they feel like it? Even with the above problems I love this gym. It's clean, they are relatively quick when a machine is broken and I love the community of morning gym goers. read more