UPDATED: Hoboken Activists Want To Kick Spin Class Off Waterfront

HOBOKEN, NJ — A Hoboken watefront activist group has filed a complaint with the state Department of Environmental Protection because the city is allowing a private fitness company to host spin classes in a gazebo on the waterfront walkway.

The small company, Prime Cycle of Hoboken, was first allowed by the city to host its popular spin classes in some of the batting cages during Little League season last month, and the company agreed to run spin classes there for teenage girls for free. But some residents complained about the loss of the cages during baseball season, so Prime Cycle was allowed to set up in the gazebo starting April 13.

That apparently doesn't sit well (or spin well) with The Fund for a Better Waterfront, a longtime activist group in Hoboken that often fights waterfront development projects they believe are out of scale.

However, residents on social media have argued that Prime is a local small business that has been a good neighbor and deserves the chance to survive during the pandemic.

The business owner said that she had to close completely for four months last year.

"Mayor [Ravi] Bhalla and the city are glad to provide this outdoor space to a business that has faced substantial hardships due to the pandemic," city spokesman Vijay Chaudhuri on Monday.

The Fund for a Better Waterfront said on Friday, "FBW has filed a complaint with the NJDEP against the city of Hoboken for violating state requirement for 24-hour public access" to the waterfront.

Waterfront laws

All parts of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway — the 18-mile chain of walkways from Bayonne to the George Washington Bridge, including Hoboken's waterfront — are, according to a 1988 state rule, required to allow public access. Even private developers who've built on the waterfront have had to allow the walkways in their developments to be open to the public.

On its webpage, FBW noted, "Beginning on April 13, the City of Hoboken permitted a cycling studio, Prime Cycle, to close off the pavilion for its outdoor classes promoted on its website as 'Spinning with a view.' For 24 hours a day, the site is now completely blocked off to the public, with high chain link fencing and tarps surrounding the structure."

On Monday, Chaudhuri said that after Bhalla signed an executive order last year allowing fitness companies to hold outdoor classes, more than 30 clubs and studios, including Prime, used city parks and fields to help residents stay fit outdoors.

"Many of these gym owners have credited this option for saving their business from bankruptcy, including Prime Cycle," Chaudhuri said. "Prime Cycle’s use of the gazebo at Pier A is temporary until capacity limits are lifted."

Prime Cycle owner Julie Insogna-Jarrett said Monday night, "Our application included that we had 100+ pound bikes of significant value that couldn’t be left outdoors due to potential robbery, vandalism and weather damage. The city discussed these challenges with us and it was determined at that time that since the batting cages would not be in use, we could hold classes there ... [then] the gazebo was offered for a limited time. We were given another permit that will once again be month to month. Prime Cycle does not pay any permit fees but continues to pay full rent for the past 14 months despite our indoor studio being closed."

She added that Prime "is a small business owned by me, a 15-year resident who lives and raises her children in Hoboken. Owning a small business here has been a dream come true. Without the outdoor spaces provided by the city, Prime Cycle most definitely would have filed for bankruptcy and closed."

Fund for a Better Waterfront (FBW) Executive Director Ron Hine said, "We understand the city’s commitment to assist local businesses that have been negatively impacted by the current pandemic. This location, however, is unacceptable and disregards state regulations.”

One commenter on social media compared the situation to restaurants placing tables on public sidewalks and streets, which many have done in the last year in the form of "streateries" and "parklets."

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