Indoor Fitness Classes to Resume in New York City

[Editor's Note: 6:30 p.m. ET, March 18, 2021 - This story has been updated with information from Fhitting Room.)

Indoor fitness classes can resume at 33 percent capacity in New York City on March 22, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The governor allowed gyms to reopen in September after temporary closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but at that time, Cuomo gave local officials the ability to decide whether indoor fitness classes would be allowed to resume. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio decided against allowing indoor fitness classes, causing protest among studio owners in the city, some of whom sued the mayor and governor last month to reopen. Several studio owners also protested their continued closure in front of New York City Hall on March 16, but de Blasio said in a press briefing prior to the protest that he would not reopen the studios, according to the New York Post.

However, the next day, Cuomo made his announcement allowing for indoor fitness classes in New York City starting March 22.

After Cuomo’s announcement, de Blasio spokesman Bill Neidhardt shared the following statement with The Post: “New York City will help gyms and fitness centers hold classes as safely as possible, but if Governor Cuomo is going to continue overruling local control during the pandemic, he must show that he is being guided by the data and science, not politics.”

Kari Saitowitz, Fhitting Room founder and CEO, told Club Industry in an email: “More than a year since shuttering our studio doors to protect our community, we are more than ready to safely deliver health, heart and happiness (our version of physical, mental and social well-being) to our New York community who crave working out in a shared space together. Our team is ecstatic to have the use of our studios back, a long overdue decision and right we’ve all been fighting for.”

In 2020, Saitowitz partnered with other studio founders to form the Boutique Fitness Alliance, a group that worked to galvanize the industry and organized press conferences, rallies, letter-writing campaigns and social media content to educate and be heard by local lawmakers and community about the importance and safety of group fitness classes.

The Fhitting Room is taking several measures to ensure safe operations, including clearly marked individual client workout spaces called safety squares, no shared equipment or machines, controlled traffic flow, reduced class capacity and upgraded air conditioning systems and in-studio HEPA filters.

The company will also remain dedicated to Fhitting Room LIVE, and will continue to offer its live virtual classes as many of its clients are either not based in New York City, love the convenience of working out at home, or might not be ready to return to in-person group fitness just yet.

The New York Health Department will inspect studios within two weeks of reopening to ensure safety protocols are in place. The classes are allowed at 33 percent capacity, and contact information is required along with a health screening.

In addition, the 11 p.m. curfew on gyms and other businesses will be lifted on April 5, according to the governor.