The NYC Parks Department maintains a bunch of recreation centers in the city that are often refered…read moreto 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. Though J. Hood Wright may be a good community center it doesn't have very good fitness facilities. From what I observed when I took a tour it's a small place that probably does more after-school and senior programs than fitness stuff. The center itself is in a park and during the day mostly the older folks in the neighborhood use it, so that's not a big surprise. The fitness room is very small with about 6 machines and a paltry selection of free weights. The center also didn't have a very good 'feel', if that makes sense. I went through looking at the facilites and didn't feel welcome and some of the dudes hanging around the fitness room were, frankly, creepy. So I won't be back. Since there's no pool it only costs $50/year to join this center.

What more can you ask for? ... Dog run, a nice circle pattern to take your animals for a walk and…read moreto do their business, play ground, courts...I don't use the fitness center, just the public walk areas. Deduction of stars because of the poop on the ground from inconsiderate people who don't curb their dogs, glass on the ground here and there, dudes drinking Hennessy at the chess table, cops occasionally doing car searches along the outskirts of the park. J "HOOD" rriigghhtt... gotta have thick skin to go through their after sunset, but it's on the up N up.

I came to this rec center when I was in the neighborhood and I had time to kill…read more STAFF The staff seemed very polite and professional here. As soon I entered the lobby, the female security guard greeted me. I asked if there's a fitness room at this rec center. She said there is and politely gave me clear directions to that room. There was a personal trainer in the lobby. As soon as he heard that I was new to the center, he introduced himself and mentioned that he offers free 30 minute sessions. How cool! And very good to know. ATMOSPHERE They offer many things here: fitness room with treadmills, biked, and some strength machines. There's a conference room, where I saw a class or workshop taking place . There's a computer room with 5 to 10 machines. There's also an outdoor pool, which is open the summer. The rooms looked clean. Bathroom looked decent enough.

We don't recommend this center. We had to pay over $2,000 for our children with disabilities to get…read more30 minutes a week of for private lessons. Out of the 8 weeks, they would tell us at last minute that our child would not have classes because instructors took the day off. They wouldn't even refund or give us the day for a future make up class. Interesting enough, free classes are given to other families. Jerome, Bronx New Settlement Community Center.

This community center offers a wide range of activities such as karate, jiu jitsu, ballet, swimming…read moreand other classes and activities. the ball room is very nice and refined large space for yoga, ballet, and other classes such as karate and jiu jitsu. The swimming pool is very large and has plenty of lifeguards however the locker room/bathroom situations is quite a big problem mainly in the showers since there is little to no hot water some of the time also there are broken movable shower heads in both family locker rooms and the floor itself looks festered with disease it left a bad taste in my mouth. Besides that issue the community center has good heating and air conditioning and very friendly staff and good wifi as well.

Half the place continues to be under construction, including the pool, for going on 5 years.read more

The NYC Parks Department maintains a bunch of recreation centers in the city that are often refered…read moreto 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 134th street address. What you want to do is walk east along 135th (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, 134th. Don't confuse it with the Joseph Kennedy rec center at the end of the street.

I was researching places that have the best view of GWB. This park came up…read more If you take the A train to 175 street, it takes you right to the entrance. It's a big park. I wasn't expecting the size of it. It has a lot to offer. I saw basketball court, garden, recreation center and dogs park. When you walk further in, you would see there is an area to see the George Washington Bridge. Wow. It was worth the long commute for me. I definitely recommend checking out this park.

Missed our bus going to Jersey so we had 45 min to spare for coffee & a little walk…read more We googled a nearby park & found this spot. Loved our little discovery. Green grass, available bathroom, people walking their dogs. Considering the area i didn't really felt unsafe. There are benches scattered in the park & a beautiful view of the GwB.

Nice neighborhood park in upper Manhattan…read more Had a chance to check it out during my recent marathon long training run and ran around it for a few miles. Some nice views here. Tree lined walkways. Relaxing.

Took a nice walk a week ago. We started in the northest tip, at Dyckman street, you first go up a…read morehill, it's very woody, many squirrels and birds, not many people, reasonably clean, feels like you are far away from new york city. The harlem river drive is very far below and also, since you are north of the GWB, it is not so busy. Then there is a large pedestrian path going south, amazingly pleasant, until you get to the Washington Bridge, then you need to go out of the park, the park is not at all maintained there, so you cross the bridge just slightly west of the park, and re enters the park south of the bridge, where the water tower stands, and you can cross the highbridge itself to the bronx, which we did and I recommend it. We walked all the way down to 145th street, There is another park between 155th and 145th street, Jackie Robinson Park , we walked by it on Edgecombe avenue, it was very nice !

NYC Parks and Recreation is the best on the planet. Can you imagine how enormous a job it is with…read moreall the Boroughs and what used to be 8 million residents? (Note: I haven't checked the NYC population census lately.) I've found the employees to be very hard working and friendly. I've been to a lot of the parks and if it didn't have a business page I more than likely created one. Park is just one of the many names of the public areas in their care. There's playgrounds, public spaces, Squares, Gardens and more! The areas include monuments, statues, seating, water fountains, trash bins and lots of landscaping plants and flowers that require care. I'm a huge, huge, stress HUGE fan. After all, my undergraduate degree was in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation! I'm in!

This is one of the gems and benefits of living in NYC that tourists often overlook but locals love…read moreto take advantage of. There are so many great FREE fitness classes, concerts, movies, dance events, environmental education, volunteer opportunities through the NYC Parks & Rec organization that you can fill every day of your week with a free program in one of NYC's many parks! Check the website for the latest events and happenings around the city!

Love this park it's huge. Love it in the snow it's so pretty and I love playing in it. This time…read morenot much to do but walk around everything was covered in snow but I still love it

This park is very beautiful and had been remodeled since i was a teenager. Theres so much more to…read moredo here, even a restaurant. I would come here all the time as a teen and early adulthood for the pool during the summer months with friends. Def a NY staple

Open 7 days 11am-3pm and 4pm-7pm Lap Swimming Mon. - Fri…read more from 7:00 - 8:30 AM & 7:00 - 8:30 PM Rules: * Bring your own towels and lock * No electronics in the pool area- must store in locker * No luggage locks, only Master Locks allowed. * All bags frisked before entry Pros: * Enormous pool * Very clean and cold water - you can tell they constantly clean it * There is a lot of space to lie down, but its mostly uncomfortable concrete surfaces. Good thing there are about 10 plastic lounge chairs (that are heavily padlocked and chained to each other) at the back that go quickly Cons: * Because it's a public free pool- there are tons of rules and staff is very strict. Honestly I'd prefer rules and strict versus total chaos at the pool * Changing rooms and showers are gross!! It smells and there is never any toilet paper. Make sure to wear flip flops because the floors are disgusting. Tips: * If you want quiet, don't come to the Friday morning session because there are a million kids running and screaming.

Jesus. this is why I don't believe in "free" public spaces without being ruined by the bureaucratic…read morecorrupt police system that is NYPD, cranky pool staff that are most probably volunteering bc they don't wanna be there, and rundown government funded facilities. There are NO snack machines NO items allowed by the pool except towel + water NO basic amenities of chairs, umbrellas, etc NO clean restrooms (they're there, just dirty) There are, however: plenty cranky "workers" who will inspect every inch of your bagged items, a "guard" at every door of this labyrinth of a public pool, and fencing around the perimeters is the pool for, God knows why. I regret coming here. I'll stick with the pool at my gym, thanks

My cousin came to celebrate her son's birthday at this location, not only because it was convenient…read morefor more people to attend, but because the one on palisades mall was all booked. Billie Beez is the new discovery zone/chuckie cheese. The line was long out front and the guy behind the counter ignored me. Luckily my cousin told me I didn't have to wait on the line for a party attendee. The workers upfront look like they hate their lives. Good thing our party host had a better vibe. I didn't take enough photos, but Billie beez play area is actually really nice and big. The kids had fun, no wonder my cousins son demanded to come here for his 4th birthday. All the kids had a blast. I parked in the garage right outside the mall. It only cost me $3 to get out. Not bad

Billy Bee's is an indoor park located inside of the Bay Plaza Mall. I came here for my nephew's…read morebirthday party! There was a bunch of my family. We had a private party room for 1 hour & a half. This is cute for the younger kids. The hosts were very nice & attentive! My nephew was beyond happy! The hosts served pizza. It was ok too much bread for me. It was all about the kids not me! This is a nice place to have a kid's party b/c they can play all day.