Eastern Athletic Clubs

This gym is possibly the worst I’ve ever been a member of. It’s expensive relative to other (better) gyms in the area. I joined it because it was conveniently located but the facilities are old, the classes are really awful (just really slow moving, not great variety, and generally just not a good workout), and the staff did not explain to me how to get out of my contact properly so I ended up paying for an extra month. If you can, avoid this gym, it’s definitely worth the 10-​minute walk to the other gyms in the area.

A little more expensive than a Planet Fitness membership, but with that you get access to pool, sauna, steam room, and all sorts of luxuries you’d be paying an arm and a leg for anywhere else in NYC. Also, there is usually never a crowd or wait for machines or equipment, and the customer service is GREAT!

I was a member for a year before canceling due to injury from their equipment breaking as I used it.
Pros:
Clean locker rooms
Has a pool
Cons:
Old equipment that is frequently broken
Difficult cancelation process
Crowded bc all the students get the gym for free
Terrible music/​broken TVs
Now I was ok tolerating all this until one piece of equipment literally broke and fell on my head while I was using it. I stumbled to the front where they gave me ice. Then I got called to the mgmt office where I thought they were going to apologize. Instead the cruel old lady yelled at me for not knowing how to use the equipment. It’s the same equipment I used all the time. The nerve of her! When I went back out front and told people what happened a trainer apologized saying that’s how the mgmt is at the gym.
I immediately asked to cancel and of course had to wait another month bc of their crappy cancelation process.

Located in a historical building, this gym has all the updated equipment you would need plus sauna, steam room, racquetball, swimming pool, etc. Been a member for four years now and still loving it. Met a lot of friends through the club. Staff are very friendly and know me by the name. This club also offers various activities/​seminars for members such as wine tasting class. It also has a spa, although I have never used it myself. I have even shown my out-​of-​town friends around the club and they were equally impressed. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because sometimes the TV’s on some of the equipment don’t work properly. But they do get fixed pretty quickly.

I have been a member of this gym for nine years. The staff are very hard working and kind. This gym is spotless. I run a non profit and for the last 4 years the club has donated the use of the pool for free swimming lessons for under privileged youth. This gym treats the members like family. I hope to be using eastern as my home away from home for many more years.

I’ve belonged to this gym for over three years because I live across the street. There is plenty of equipment and the workout area is spacious. There are rooms that are never in use that you can go to stretch; I’ve even brought my computer and worked there because it is so quiet. While cardio equipment is frequently broken and takes a long time to get fixed, there is always another machine of its kind available. The place is rarely crowded. These are all the upsides, and ultimately I’m glad to have a gym so close by.
Now, why my review is «Meh, I’ve experienced better.» You’ll notice that many of the 5-​star reviews are from students. Some get a free membership that is included in their dorm fee, others pay a significantly reduced price until they’re 25. If I was getting this gym for free, or even for $ 80/​month, I would be thoroughly happy too. But I pay $ 135/​month. The entire gym, including much of the equipment, is dated. The spin bikes don’t have any speedometer/​odometer/​rpm computers on them. The classes, by and large, are low level. There are a handful of spin instructors I like, but management keeps cancelling classes without notification. I find out when I walk in and nobody is in the spin room. They don’t update their website. Since I have been a member, they have reduced the overall number of classes, and when I ask about trying different times they just say they’ve tried it before and it didn’t work, so the classes dwindle and dwindle. The mat and yoga classes are all beginner. They can offer a decent workout and the instructors are friendly, but there is no option for any intermediate or advanced courses. At least a half dozen times I’ve been to classes where the instructor was either more than 10 minutes late or didn’t show at all. Front desk attendants are students, which is fine, but the lack of professionalism is apparent. I once walked in to find a girl behind the desk wearing a shirt that had Motherf***ing written across it. Come on.
I used to work out at Sports Club LA on the UES for $ 40 more a month (they’ve since been bought by Equinox). The 5,000 sf facility had a gorgeous rooftop deck with patio furniture and a cantina, high-​quality classes offered throughout the day that always ran on time, all the sports courts you need plus a climbing wall, extras like combs and mouthwash and deodorant in the locker room, free locker keys, and a professional staff. I really miss that place.
I will likely continue to go to Eastern Athletic in Brooklyn Heights because it’s across the street. But I hope every day that Equinox will buy it and bring it up to the level that this amazing space could be.
If you live in between this and other options in the neighborhood, explore the other options. The ownership takes no pride in their business other than collecting dues and gives the management zero authority to make customer service decisions.

This gym is in dire need of a revamp. Given the cost ($ 180/​month if you’d like to include racquet sports) there should be no excuses for sandpaper towels, broken equipment, old worn out carpet etc.
Staff are very nice, but would be great if they could spend the money to update systems so that we would have membership cards rather than memorizing memberships numbers, and have ability to reserve classes and squash/​racquet ball courts online. I’m sure it would assist the staff as well.
During high season is very difficult to reserve a squash court at peak times as quite often there are league matches, high school training, and/​or lessons.
Unless you’re a student, don’t expect any flexibility in payment options — paying annually upfront saves you all of a couple of dollars a month that is no incentive at all. Suggest higher incentives for upfront payment at least.

Ok gym. It is relatively small. They offer different classes. The swimming pool is very small: only 1 person is allowed per lane.

This gym is extremely overpriced for what it is. The only reason I signed up was because it was nearby. The main reason I am giving them 1 star is because they are extremely unhelpful and inflexible. I was given a different age for when your rate goes up from $ 75 to $ 125. The rate went up and when I called they were very unhelpful.

LOVE THIS GYM.
Any chance on getting 1 – 2 more squat racks? Compound exercises such as deadlift/​squat/​row/​bench are some of the most important and practiced exercises. It is a bit of an inconvenience when the rack is always being used. Otherwise, you end up feeling the burning eyes of 5 – 10 gym-​goers waiting for you to finish on the squat rack. I say clear out some of the un-​used equipment in the back of the weight-​room (next to the mens locker room) and add a squat rack or two!

I’ve been a member here for about two years now and «meh» sums it up pretty well.
When I first moved to Brooklyn Heights, it was the closest option to my apartment so, being lazy, I went with it. I’m fairly easy to please, and the space is huge and never seemed crowded, so I got started after trying it out on a one-​day pass — the signup process was quick and relatively painless.
However, the layout is cavernous and a bit bizarre — there is a massive open pit area with a lot of pin-​loaded strength machines that never seem to be used. I prefer free weights, and that space is much more limited. Maintenance is also haphazard — there was a mirror that stayed broken for months, and the weights are almost never racked. The furniture in the lounge looks like it was ordered in the 1960s — I half expect to see Jon Hamm putting on his hat and walking out to start his work day.
The classes left much to be desired. I like high-​intensity interval style boot camps for my cardio, and there is practically nothing on the schedule for that. The classes are mainly full of much older women and retirees. That’s completely fine, and it’s no problem that this gym caters to an older demographic, but I find it uninspiring and not a place that motivates me.
The pool and squash courts seem nice, but I’ve never used them so they don’t factor into my review. All told, I’m strongly considering an upgrade to Equinox — I have several friends who’ve joined recently who keep bugging me to join them, so one of these days I’ll probably make the switch.

The Prospect Heights location is dirty and unpleasant. The whole facility smells damp and the walls are cracked in need of a good paint job. The equipment is old, particularly the weights. The windows probably would offer a lovely of view Prospect Park, but there’s really no way to know because they’re so dirty. They gym isn’t open on Saturday mornings because it’s housed in a building shared with a synagogue. No complaints here about religious observances. For those who don’t observe, however, it can be inconvenient to not be able to work out until 1 on Saturdays. It’s a fact worth knowing when you’re comparing Eastern to other gyms.
What really soured me to the experience at Easter Athletic, though, is the impression that this gym trades on making money from people who want to end their memberships. They require more than 30 days notice to end your contract. For example, if you pay for October on ¹⁰⁄₁ and attempt to end your membership on, say October 2, the management continues to bill you through November. They do it without a hint of consolation. They do it impolitely and with attitude.
Their services do not match up to gyms at similar prices points and their customer service is way off the mark.

The Prospect Park location is very poorly managed. Yes it’s clean and has a terrific pool but the classes offered are few and extremely limited. There are no stretching mats and most of the small pads and yoga mats a salable are deteriorating and SMELLY. The music played in the weight room floor is the worst of pop and edm, suitable for 14yr olds. Members have complained and been told by Mgmnt «Sorry you don’t like it, but it’s not changing.» And they have the nerve to charge $ 125 per month.

I’m amazed that this gym is still in business, between the ridiculously high cost and the total lack of customer service. I’ve been a member on and off over the 30 years i’ve lived in the neighborhood. I decided I wanted to try and see if i’d actually go again, so I went in to sign up for the 3 month for $ 133 trial membership. Spoke to a nice young lady who told me that the offer started on April 1, so it was already 18 days in. I asked to have it prorated, or extended beyond end of June. She said no, they couldn’t do that. I explained the shiny flyer they had printed says NOTHING about a start date of April 1. She looked and looked at it and agreed, so she asked Elsa, the woman who appears to be in charge about it. Elsa said no, can’t prorate or extend it. I asked why and was told they don’t do that. Didn’t matter that there was no info regarding that on the flyer. You’d think whats the big deal about letting me work out till mid july, and maybe gaining a customer, wouldn’t you? #EAC #EasternAthleticClub if you have a corporate office you should be aware of how poorly your gyms are managed and the lack of customer service.

This is a really mediocre grandma gym and they charge too much. As others have said, equipment, treadmills, TV’s, and even glass mirrors are frequently broken and left unfixed for weeks. I can’t understand how a treadmill can go un-​repaired for more a couple days. TV’s are always in poor condition. Weights are left all over the floor with no staff to pick them up. The gym puts up these signs saying «please re-​rack weights» as if that’s enough to solve the problem. It’s not.
The bigger issue for me though is that the rates do not match the quality of the club. The customer service reps do not work with their customers to keep them as members or try to negotiate rates if the situation calls for it. It’s a take it or leave it deal with them, which is a sign of bad customer service. They have students working the front desk who could care less about the place. The overall experience is just so sub-​par. This gym cost is only slightly less than Equinox, yet so far below in quality, it’s absurd.
Not to mention, all the classes seem to be for folks aged 75+ and thus they attract that aged clientele– definitely not a gym made for the young professional.

I’m having a hard time understanding how a business with NO customer service, manages to exist in this day and age. I recently moved up the street from the Eastern Athletic Club in Brooklyn Heights. I received a flyer in the mail offering a three month membership for $ 133. I’m in my seventh month of pregnancy and running outdoors isn’t as easy as it used to be, plus I work long hours, so only have time to work out once or twice a week; this offer was ideal.
The offer expired on Sunday, November 30, 2014. I begged my ride home from out of town (it was Thanksgiving weekend) to leave early, so I could be back in time to sign up. When I got back to NY, I headed right over to the club. They had closed early (at 5:00) because of the holiday. There was NO indication that this would be happening on the mailing from them.
I figured it wasn’t that big a deal-​I just wouldn’t work out that evening and I’d call the next morning and explain the situation. I called and spoke to someone who basically said, «tough’ (not in those exact words). I politely asked to speak to a manager and she told me I couldn’t, the managers had already made up their minds.
I wasn’t back in the neighborhood at a reasonable hour again until that Friday night. I stopped in to the club and asked to speak to someone in charge. I was directed to Al, a lovely gentleman who was understanding and polite but totally ineffectual. He said there was nothing he could do but suggested I call a woman named Elsa on Monday.
I just got off the phone with Elsa. She was also completely ineffective, and though surface-​ly polite, suggested that they had actually stayed at the gym late on Thanksgiving Sunday (what, was I LYING?!) and if I had simply tried the door, I wouldn’t be in this situation. Why would I try a door if the sign on it clearly stated that the business was CLOSED? She also, of course, tried to sell me a more expensive membership, which is ridiculous for someone in my situation-​very pregnant and almost never home. When I very nicely and calmly said I didn’t understand a business decision like this, she said, «We’ve been in business over 40 years so I guess we’re doing something right.»
No manners, no compassion, no business sense… what a shame. The club isn’t anything special inside but it would’ve worked for me. If you want to deal with reasonable people, I wouldn’t join EAC.

The Brooklyn Heights location of EAC is very quiet. While it does cater to the local college dorms in the St. George Hotel, the clientele is always respectful and quiet. I cannot comment on the classes offered, but the machines they offer are plentiful and I have not had a difficult time getting the machines I wanted when I wanted them. This club also features Squash courts, a small pool, hottub, billiard tables, etc.
In general the club is very clean though some of the carpets, etc. appear dingy due to their age.

simply an awful experience.
Not sure if this place is actually a gym, or a wanna-​be country club that happens to have weights and machines. Where do i begin…
Their entire gym is underground, and unfortunately due to that, they are a cellular deadzone. Can’t blame them for that, it happens. However I do expect if that’s the case, there exists some effort on the gyms end to make sure there is ample WiFi coverage throughout the gym grounds. There isn’t, and it’s not even close. If you are arguably the largest gym in the city, with 5 floors and tens of thousands of square footage, you should have approximately 3 wireless access points per floor, totaling 15. They have 3, TOTAL. Yea, 3, as in one, two, THREE. This means complete cell AND wifi deadzones throughout the gym, inlcuding the entire free weight area. Awesome. Great effort guys.
There are dozens of broken equipment, parts, etc scattered throughout the gym with no effort at all to repair, ever. All i ever see are signs saying «caution: broken glass», «out of order», etc. Like the sign makes it okay. What happens during a fire? Will they put up a sign saying «Caution: Open Flame»?
There’s literally twice as many weights on the floor than actually racked up. Again, they put up signs saying «please put weights back». That doesn’t work, you need staff roaming around. Not even sure if they have staff, they come around that infrequently. Again, basic gym etiquette and they make no effort to enforce.
Very basic machines are noticably absent. No fly machine, no t-​bar row. Instead we have an entire room dedicated to hydrolic machines, that nobody uses. They purchased these back in the early 90s and clearly don’t want to lose on that investment so they use an entire room for them. Meanwhile, staples to pretty much any standard workout are absent or IN STORAGE. YES, STORAGE.
They use any excuse for a half day. 4 days before Labor Day, on a working day, they decide to close at 2pm. Market is open, myself and anyone else in financials or dealing with finance needs to work until 430pm and we are now forced to pony up $ 20 or so to go to ANOTHER gym to actually get a work out (called every other major gym in city, none closed before 6pm, yet EAC closed at 2pm for 3 straight days).
Did i mention how they like to notify you that it’s indeed 2pm and they want to get out ASAP? They shut off the lights to the entire gym. That means people who have already finished way before 2pm and are now in the locker room changing, showering, trying to get ready, they are now bumping into lockers, into themselves, into equipment, all because the staff waiting at the front door with a key in the door are so anxious to leave at 2:01pm. Seriously? People do this? Yes, people do.
To sum up, there is a noticable complete absence of regard for members at this gym and it’s infuriating to say the least. They charge premium prices for subpar service. You would get a friendlier experience at Gold’s Gym, seriously.

BUYER BEWARE! Was a member in good standing at the Tribeca Location for two years. I went in at the beginning of the month to cancel my membership. Was asked to electronically sign my «cancellation» and pay my final «balance in full», which I did via debit card. Two weeks later another full monthly charge appeared on my debit/​checking account. When I called the Tribeca club they told me they were under new ownership and that I need to call the Prospect Park location to deal with the issue. When I called that location I was routed to «Lenny» the salesperson who originally sold me on the place. He told me that when cancelling my membership I had actually unwittingly signed an electronic authorization to automatically charge the debit card I had used to make my so called «final payment» and thus authorized them to charge my account through July 31^st. When I explained that I was specifically told the payment I made in the beginning of the month was my last, and more importantly that I had never authorized any EFTs on my debit card, ever, his response was «well, you never told us that we couldn’t debit your card.» Outrageous!

I love this gym so much! It could be cheaper, but i’m not complaining. Although I only weight train, the gym offers a number of membership benefits. Such as squash courts, free classes, a pool, and more. The gym is almost never full, and I sometimes go during rush hours. I never have to wait for a bench or machine. The only problem I had was the cost and the cooling of the facility. It gets a little warm during the summer, but not unbearable. The people at the gym are also very friendly and nice. Would recommend this gym for anybody trying to lose weight or maintain.

This place is as good as it gets, really. I lived at the place next door for two summers, and this gym really lives up to the price.
It’s small enough that you never have to worry about waiting for a machine. Yet it’s big enough that everything you’d really want is there. They have great facilities and a small number of clientele, which really hits the spot.
My routine usually includes ends with a jog down the Brooklyn Promenade just two blocks down! Amazing view, fabulous location, no complaints!

I recently decided to try to swim my way through as many pools in NYC as I can get into, having fond memories of the John Cheever story The Swimmer and needing to get into shape. The pool at the Brooklyn Heights Eastern Athletic was my first stop, having been recommended by a friend who had recently joined.
My friend’s guest passes had expired, so I had to pay $ 25 for a day pass, which was kinda lame, but whatevs.
The interior was very nice, swanky even, and they even had rugged carpeting and faux-​leather bench tops in the well-​kept locker rooms. The gym was eerily uncrowded, especially given that I was there on a Saturday afternoon, which tends to be a busy time at any gym I’ve ever belonged to.
The pool is on the small side, four lanes and probably about 40 ft. long, but fine for lap swimming if you’re not an Olympic level athlete. You have to pay attention to the pool schedule because lap swim is only offered at certain times. I had to wait about 10 minutes for a lane, so I chilled out in the hot tub and watched a father rue the day he decided to have children while looking at his child, who was crying that the water cold was too cold during his private swimming lesson in one lane (this must just be a fancy NYC neighborhood phenomenon –hitherto I innocently assumed that all children learned to swim in group lessons just like I did before walking 10 miles uphill to school every day and then participating in Cold War era drills involving sitting under our desks to protect us from nuclear fallout).
Fortunately, the kid with the private swimming lesson was mercifully whisked away after refusing to get into the water for the tenth time, his father giving up just a little more on life that day. Then I took over the lane and had a good swim. Afterwards, I learned that the showers were pretty nice as far as gym showers go (pro tip: remember to get your towels when you enter the gym; they don’t seem to have stacks in the locker rooms).
All in all, a great gym pool.

I’m a member of the Prospect Heights location, and let me tell you, this place is my mecca.
My favorite thing about this gym is its view; the gym resides on the top few floors of a building overlooking Grand Army Plaza, so the cardio machines offer a gorgeous view of Prospect Park, but if you go up to the ballet studio on the top floor, you get a priceless view of the Manhattan skyline. I’m usually left to drool over the view in peace because the gym is almost never crowded. Cue deep breaths of relaxation! After being a New York Sports Club member (amongst others), I’ve learned that a non-​overcrowded gym is a hard thing to come by in this city.
Other pros: the gym boasts a basketball court, pool, spin room, a friendly staff, and all the machines you could need. I haven’t tried any of their group fitness classes, but they offer quite a few.

When I heard that a gym membership was included in my housing fees next door, I was a bit hesitant about what I would be getting. The website isn’t very specific about the amenities and so I tried not to get my hopes up. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about as Eastern Athletic Club is just what it needs to be!
I was a bit confused upon first walking in and the front desk wasn’t too eager to help. I got a few words out of the worker though and eventually made my way to scope out the place on my own. Cardio machines are plentiful and I especially love the fact that most of them come with a TV. It never is too crowded and so finding a machine is never a crapshoot. There are multiple rooms with weight machines and side rooms for stretching, reformer pilates, and personal training.
Upstairs there is a squash and racquetball courts, a boxing ring, and salons for the courses like spinning, yoga, and pilates. I have found that the classes are kind of hit or miss when it comes to instructors, but it all comes down to personal preference.
The locker rooms are always stocked with small and big towels, a hairdryer is provided, along with Q-​tips, lotion, and other things you might need.
Everyone is pretty friendly while working up a sweat, and I’d like to see sometime what the other clubs are like. Fortunately, it’s not a necessity though because this one is doing just fine!

I just joined this past week and I have been really pleased so far. This gym is expensive, but not necessarily by New York gym standards. I was quoted $ 30/​week ($ 120/​month) with a membership you could cancel or a 20 month membership at around $ 80/​month so I went with the ladder.
Is it worth it? If you are going to use it, 100 percent yes. In terms of exercise equipment there is everything you could think of. I would estimate that there are 40 treadmills on two levels with exercise bikes, etc. mixed in. There is an entire room of nautilus equipment and then a completely separate free weights area. There are dumbbells in both rooms as well as private stretching and personal training areas.
There are also 4 squash courts and 4 racquetball courts, a small pool, hot tub, dry sauna, steam room in each locker room and ample room to sit all over the place. In terms of the crowds, I have only been going here for a week in August so it is hard to estimate, but there are few people every time I go and I can always get in and out of there in about an hour.
This does not appear to be a pick-​up gym like Equinox and also is not a meat head gym like Gold’s. The crowd is a mix of older people with younger people as I think this club has a deal with the dorms next door.
The whole club is clean and orderly. The only problem I have seen is that no one puts their free weights back on the racks and the dumbbells are never in order. This is likely due to the members, but it doesn’t seem that they have someone clean it all up at the end of the day. Not a big deal in an otherwise very well maintained complex.
All of the fitness classes here are included in your membership, no extra costs at all. They also have child care here, as well as Junior Academy which has a ton of things (at more cost, but less for members) for children from baby to teens like fencing, karate, tennis, squash, swimming, etc. This is ideal for a family with kids who need occasional child care and also would like some activities to do with their kids or for the kids to do on their own, especially in the winter months.