Not gym dandy: Suit presses for classes
More than 2,000 city gym owners are suing Mayor de Blasio for opening the gyms — but barring barre, yoga and other fitness classes.
Leaders in city government have paved an “inconsistent and unjust” path to reopening gym facilities in the Big Apple, according to an injunction filed in Staten Island Supreme Court Wednesday by the New York Fitness Coalition.
“If tanning salons, tattoo parlors, gyms, schools, indoor gymnastics, casinos, mass transit, piercing stations and spas are allowed to open, fit, yoga, pilates, barre and other fitness boutique studios should also be allowed to open,” the filing states.
Gyms across the city reopened under strict guidelines on Sept. 2, but the city had “not provided any science or data” to small fitness-business owners ordered to stay closed, according to the complaint.
Further, the filing states, most gym classes are built for social distancing as they include a maximum of 10 students and are held in studios about 1,000 to 2,000 square feet in size.
Small and struggling fitness studios owners say they’ve been punished for the city’s inability to comprehensively inspect facilities for safety hazards in the time of coronavirus. Six months into lockdown, they risk never being able to reopen.
“The unequal, random, arbitrary and unfair treatment is prevalent in the reopening guidance,” the lawsuit states.
In a terse statement Wednesday night, the mayor dug in.
“The city’s public health experts have determined that these activities are high-risk, and we’re continuing to put public safety first as the city continues its recovery from COVID-19,” said de Blasio spokesman Mitch Schwartz.