NYC Gyms Criticize COVID Restriction Disparities, Want Help

NYC Gyms Criticize COVID-19 Restriction Disparities, Demand Help to Stay Alive

By Dean Meminger New York City

PUBLISHED 9:30 AM ET Feb. 13, 2021 PUBLISHED 9:30 AM EST Feb. 13, 2021

NEW YORK — The fitness industry in the city has taken multiple hits during the coronavirus pandemic. Gyms in the five boroughs are allowed to operate at 25% capacity only, while class-based gyms aren't able to operate at all.

Meantime, gyms elsewhere in the state can operate at 33% capacity. Many in the industry have been raising concerns about the disparity, while at the same time calling on the federal government to step in and help.

Debra Strougo, founder of Row House, a class-based gym in the city, joined NY1's Dean Meminger on Friday to discuss the Gym Mitigation and Survival Act that has been introduced in Congress. Its goal is to help gyms operate at a more lucrative rate across the country while adhering to COVID-19 restrictions.

"In many instances, the gym industry was the first to close, it was the last to reopen, and in New York City, many of us are still not allowed to be open,” Strougo said.

She added that Gov. Andrew Cuomo permitting contact sports also adds to the confusion, sending a message of inconsistent enforcement.

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