Planned Crunch Gym in Gowanus Gets First Approval From Community Board

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — At its Thursday meeting, Community Board 6's land use committee backed a new Crunch gym planned for 240 Smith St. The committee's only condition was to ask Crunch to work with the community to limit light emanating from the building, which will will have a mostly glass facade.

According to plans the company has filed with the city, the gym will be 15,000 square feet in total, spread over a cellar and two floors. The cellar will hold fitness equipment, spinning and a women's locker. The first floor will feature a reception area, a child care area, exercise equipment and the men's locker, while the second floor will hold more exercise equipment.

Crunch says it expects to have between 4,000 and 6,000 members at the location, with 500-750 people visiting per day. The gym would see a maximum of 125 guests at once, Crunch says.

Attorney Michael Nacmias, who represented Crunch before the community board, said the gym would hang its speakers from the ceiling, and would use pads and rubber flooring to prevent vibration and noise from bothering neighbors.

Nacmias said the gym doesn't have a set opening date, since the building it would occupy has yet to be completed.

Site plans filed by contractor SDS Leonard, LLC anticipated a February, 2017 completion date for the project, but as of the end of December, much construction remained to be done.

The work site as of Dec. 23

Crunch has proposed running the gym from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. The business says it expects to hire 30 staffers for the location.

Pictured at top: a rendering of the Crunch gym planned for 240 Smith St. Image courtesy of Crunch and SDS Leonard, LLC.