Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA

★★★★Jess Davis

EDIT: Please get a few more heavier kettlebells. There is 1 50-pound kettlebell in the gym and a handful of 30 & 35 pounders. Even a pair 40s, 45s, another 50, and a pair of 55s would be a huge addition. Very solid community option with a lot of ways to get a good workout in. Membership has really grown, which is a good thing for keeping the doors open, but it's now quite crowded and they need to seriously explore how to expand the weight room as it can only comfortably accommodate about 15 people in its current form. Also, I hope they end the policy of locking the downstairs group exercise room while school is in session. I understand they don't want the students to go in there, but with how many Y members work out during the daytime at this point, I'm confident an adult would always be in there. Sounds like I'm ranting, but honestly otherwise I love it. It's a great deal, the staff is very friendly, and so are the people who go there.

★★Michael Weinstein

I had an unpleasant interaction with a front desk staff member today when I told him that people had been consistently failing to re-rack their weights. I said that I, as a person with a disability, was not able to remove such heavy weights myself, and therefore was unable to use these weight benches as long as people did not remove their own weights. I asked, could a sign be placed near each weight bench reminding people to do this? The front desk attendant smirked smugly and said, "There are three signs that say that, in different parts of the facility." "OK," I said, "well, would it be possible to put more signage closer to the actual weight benches?" In a patronizing tone, he said, "There are signs in the facility." "In that case," I asked, "is there anything else that y'all could do to help ensure that the weights get re-racked, so that all members are able to use this equipment?" "The signs are already up," he said, still smirking, as if I were an idiot. It's frustrating that the YMCA claims to be a community-oriented and inclusive space and yet responds to its members this way. I would have hoped to be treated with more respect, and to have access to the equipment I am paying every month to use. Additionally, the facility is very busy, so when even one piece of equipment is unusable, that increases wait times and crowding. At $71/month, this branch is not cheap, and more efforts should be made to ensure that community members like me are able to get our money's worth.

★★Alex Morgan

Very concerning safety issue in the pool Visited the YMCA on Feb 8 around 10:00am to swim. The pool rules show a maximum of 5 swimmers per lane, yet there were 7 swimmers in multiple lanes. I raised this with the lifeguard on duty, but was told it was “okay,” despite the clearly exceeded capacity. Swimmers were repeatedly bumping into one another as a result. This raises a serious safety and liability concern and suggests that staff at this location may be under-trained or insufficiently prepared to enforce basic safety rules. Who should I raise this to?

★Ryan Phillips

The didn't process my employer discount or my cancellations appropriately. My attempts to resolve the issue were ignored. Calls and emails were not responded to. In the end, I was able to dispute the charges with my credit card. Some charges were too old to dispute, which shows you how long I had been unsuccessfully seeking a resolution from the YMCA. Really disappointing. They give the YMCA a bad name.

★★★★★Vianna Mason

This is a first impression review. I utilized this facility to access their indoor pool. I was able to do this using a one day guest pass (accessible from their website). I arrived for the 11am adult lap swim session. The schedule can be found on the website. The staff at the front desk was very friendly and informative. I was directed to the locker rooms downstairs, where the pool is also located. You can use any of the long lockers as long as you have your own lock. In the ladies locker room there are showers, a small sauna, and bathrooms. The area was very clean and modern looking. The pool was great. At the time I arrived, it was not crowded. There was a life guard on duty; he didn't say much but was pleasant. I swam for about an hour. I enjoyed my first time here and will definitely be returning.