Metropolitan Pool Center: Affordable Gym

Help! I live in Williamsburg and can’t afford my rent, let alone a gym membership

Solution: The Parks & Recreation Metropolitan Pool Center. Located on Bedford and Metropolitan, it’s the lone city complex that invaded the self-centered silo of the burg (or vice versa) and successfully stayed put. Having walked past the chlorine scent for months, the time came to finally check it out.

Debra Remer, the Center Manager, was helpful in answering my questions and embodied oldschool Brooklyn, complete with authentic accent. Remer’s been working with Parks & Recreation for over twenty years, the three most recently, at the Bedford location. “We have thousands of members,” she proudly notes. “Because, where can you get a better deal?”

Remer’s right. Community residents unite at this local center for only $37.50 for a six-month membership, or $75 for a full year—legit savings compared to the average New York Sports Club membership with a $65 a month price tag. Kids seventeen and under are free, so folks can bring the fam.

The amenities aren’t spectacular, but they get the job done. The women’s locker room has a public park bathroom atmosphere, offers lockers and showers (not private showers, so dare to be bare or bring a bathing suit—or skip it). There’s an indoor pool that’s open daily, and upstairs there’s a separate cardio and fitness room. The cardio room holds seven treadmills although three are currently out of commission, and about five bikes, ellipticals and step machines. The weight room is narrow and smells like the pool’s armpit, but was fairly busy on a Sunday afternoon. The narrow room is complete with free weights, two benches, and about 15 pieces of standard machinery.

The only current group class offered is Capoeira, a Brazilian dance form—random? yes—but Remer noted that pilates and yoga will be available sometime in November. The center hours: 7am-9:30pm weekdays, 7am-6pm Saturdays, and 10am-6pm Sundays. Stop in anytime to join, and you’ll also gain access to all Park & Recreation Centers across the city. Sweet deal.