The Park Slope Armory has opened (really!)

Not open to the public till January 31.

that is the weirdest omission i've ever heard of.

michael.seth.novick wrote: i'm positive i'm in the minority, but one of the selling points of this place is the lack of showers and locker rooms. i hate gyms. i find them gross. i live three blocks from the armory. i love the idea of coming home from work, changing into my workout clothes, and then heading over to the armory and showering at home. no more naked people that i'd rather not be near. and at $40 a month, i'm going down there tomorrow to get my membership.

I'm actually with you in this regard. I also think having the lockers in a heavily-trafficked hallway will help reduce the type of break-ins that have plagued the 9th St. YMCA's locker rooms.

That said - it is no wonder no "real" health clubs chose to take over this space since they were all offered it "as is" after the City/Borough did the renovations without any input from prospective operators.

kaiserkai wrote: Any word on the soccer field(s) and track?
Is that part of the membership?.

Not sure what the deal is regarding use. The one thing I did learn during today's open house is that the entire main track/field area will be closed to YMCA members from 10am - 2pm on weekdays, since it will be used by local schools during that time.

Seriously?
That would be strike 3, or 3 strkes better said.

That's a lot better.
Me likey.

Now plunk a Pool inside this thing, Steinhof catering and ill never leave.

Does anyone know if they have bumper plates at the Armory? Bumper plates being rubber coated weights used in olympic style lifting, that allow a lifter to bail if necessary?

The weight room on 9th street is useless for any kind of dynamic lift. There's no room, the plates are awful and I'm sure you'd get kicked out if you bailed on a clean and jerk.

I'd give up on the 9th street Y in a heartbeat and walk the extra distance in any kind of weather if it meant being able use bumper plates.

What are the prices?

We went and joined today. If you're thinking about it, know that they've extended the "pay no joining fee" through Feb 14...

(typically you need to pay something like 75$ + first month, but through 2/14 you just pay your first montth)

Flexichick wrote: [quote=donewaiting]We went and joined today. If you're thinking about it, know that they've extended the "pay no joining fee" through Feb 14...

(typically you need to pay something like 75$ + first month, but through 2/14 you just pay your first montth)

I called them today because I wanted to join and it said they were closed. I'm trying to get the class schedule. Have you seen it?

Anything else "weird" about the place except that you can't use the track certain hours during the week and that there are no locker rooms/showers?

They were open today... My feeling is that right now they're a little understaffed and that the YMCA as a whole hasn't integrated this facility into the overall system (like thinking they were closed today)

They have "changing rooms", which are seperate from the bathrooms, and they have lockers... just no showers...

class schedule in the "news" column
http://ymcanyc.org/index.php?id=5098

My husaband and I joined and worked out there yesterday. The TVs aren't hooked up yet which isn't really a big deal except that running for a half hour on the treadmill staring at a white wall became really horridly boring.

Plus it was SOOO HOT! I know they are still tweaking with the air but seriously, get some fans!

It would be great if they just put some shelves up above the treadmills, slapped some fans up there and let us put our portable DVD players or whatever so we don't get board.

Nevertheless, the treadmills were good.

The streatching area was rough - the "matts" were hard as a rock and not really good for stretching.

I echo what blkpetal said: it was hot in there and there were no fans. When I took the tour I called out the lack of fans and they said they had a high tech vent system that they were tweaking. yeah, I hope they figure it out soon!

I would NEVER have joined if I did not live literally across the street though, since it has no showers (or sauna, steam room, real changing rooms, private locker area, etc). I mean, showers seem like the most obvious investment. The space is HUGE beyond HUGE and there is no shower, and it's... a gym?!?

Also, there did not seem to be any towels (expecting this, we brought our own). Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting a day spa for that price, but it's not exactly cheap either.

I get the feeling the folks running it are pretty new to this kind of thing so I hope they get the kinks worked out. Or at least get some fans.

Bright side, the treadmills go 14mph. You're usually hard pressed to find any that go above 12, or even 10. For those of us who run a lot, that's a nice perk.

I liked Harbor a lot (was one of their first members and quit last year when my schedule didn't leave me much room to get down there), but Armory is closer and cheaper and should work for me. I live close enough and prefer to shower at home.

I went to the Armory today and it's gorgeous inside. The track IS 1/8 mile. The equipment is brand new and nice. They have several decent-sized rooms for pilates/yoga, cardio, kids to play, etc.

I hope I like it there. If not, re-joining Harbor is my backup plan