{"id":303918,"date":"2021-07-20T23:16:25","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T20:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/de-blasio-planning-to-take-weight-off-shoulders-of-new-gyms\/"},"modified":"2021-07-20T23:16:25","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T20:16:25","slug":"de-blasio-planning-to-take-weight-off-shoulders-of-new-gyms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/de-blasio-planning-to-take-weight-off-shoulders-of-new-gyms\/","title":{"rendered":"#De Blasio planning to take weight off shoulders of new gyms"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#De Blasio planning to take weight off shoulders of new gyms<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Opening a gym in New York City may not be such a heavy lift in the future.<\/p>\n

The de Blasio administration is moving forward with a measure to make zoning rules more flexible so that new gyms and other fitness facilities can set up shop more swiftly, without obtaining permission via costly processes that requires prospective operators to twist themselves into knots and strong-arm local community boards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s obviously a very good idea. It\u2019s a cumbersome burden on fitness studios that didn\u2019t need to be there,\u201d said Amanda Freeman, president of Boutique Fitness Alliance, who owns seven workout facilities in New York City.<\/p>\n

Freeman estimated she has been forced to shell out between $30,000 and $50,000 in legal fees and other expenses when requesting a hamstringing special permit to start a fitness studio in areas zoned for retail.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s a little bit too late, but I think righting a wrong at any time is better than not righting a wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, the gyms, spas, and licensed massage therapy businesses are subject to the hurdle. The special permit for a \u201cphysical culture establishment<\/a>,\u201d obtained from the Board of Standards and App<\/a>eals, takes about four to six months to be processed, according to the city\u2019s small business website. Permits last for ten years, after which they need to be renewed.<\/p>\n

But the new health and fitness text amendment<\/a> \u2014 which entered public review on May 19 and will need City Council approval in the coming months \u2014 would do away with that hurdle for neighborhood amenities like gyms and martial arts studios. The special permit needed dates back to the 1970s, when the city was concerned about illegal sex in health clubs and massage parlors.<\/p>\n

Jeff Mulligan, a planning and development specialist at Kramer Levin, said the local community boards sometimes don\u2019t conduct reviews of the applications, which are \u201cvery rarely\u201d denied by the Board of Standards and Appeals.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Boutique
Boutique Fitness Alliance President Amanda Freeman has paid thousands in legal fees to establish fitness studios. <\/figcaption>
Brian Zak<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe proposal to remove the special permit is sound land-use policy,\u201d he said. \u201cEliminating the special permit has been discussed for a number of years, and I think it\u2019s great that it\u2019s now happening.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mulligan said the zoning regulation predates the proliferation of commercial health gyms and health clubs. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a different time, in the 1970s,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n

In 1976, Mayor Abe Beame framed the gym-restricting zoning amendment, which would be approved by the Board of Estimate and City Planning Commission, as an effort to curtail \u201cadult entertainment\u201d businesses from setting up shop in residential neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis proposal, if enacted, will be a potent weapon to regulate so-called \u2018adult entertainment\u2019 while insuring that these establishments do not interfere with other businesses or offend our citizens,\u201d Beame said, The Post reported at the time. <\/p>\n

A City Hall rep said the zoning code change \u201cis aimed at breaking up large concentration of massage parlors and other adult entertainment facilities within a district,\u201d according to a contemporaneous Post story. <\/p>\n

If the proposed zoning code update is enacted, gyms and spas would be allowed in parts of the five boroughs that are zoned for commercial and manufacturing uses. New massage therapy establishments would be allowed in residential, commercial and manufacturing lots. In some commercial neighborhoods, gyms and spas would be capped at 10,000 square feet.<\/p>\n

The head of the Department of City Planning said health and wellness businesses are desirable amenities, so their creations should be encouraged, not hindered by \u201coutdated zoning restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe New Yorkers love our neighborhood health and fitness facilities! But starting these types of businesses can be a multi-thousand-dollar headache because of seriously outdated zoning restrictions,\u201d said City Planning Commission Chair Marisa Lago in a recent statement. \u201cHealth and fitness facilities, many of which are small businesses, are desirable amenities that improve the well-being of New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Former
Former Mayor Abe Beame initially regulated zoning rules for gyms to deter \u201cadult entertainment\u201d businesses around neighborhoods.
\n<\/figcaption>
AP Photo\/Harvey Georges<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBy removing the antiquated requirement for a discretionary special permit and cutting red tape, we\u2019re supporting small businesses, improving equity and making health and fitness facilities easier to open in neighborhoods across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Perkins, a vice president at International Health and Racket Sports Association, said the regulation relaxation is a \u201ccommon-sense change\u201d to an \u201coutdated\u201d rule. He said it would facilitate the proliferation of health and fitness facilities in a wider array of neighborhoods, rather than just well-to-do Manhattan ones, where there are more health and fitness options for local residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this helps lower the barrier to entry for people who want to open businesses, particularly when you\u2019re talking about smaller studios,\u201d said Perkins. \u201cI think this change helps streamline some of the planning and getting your doors open, so I think it will absolutely bring additional options to all different parts of the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a positive step to bring more choices to more parts of the city.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#De Blasio planning to take weight off shoulders of new gyms” Opening a gym in New York City may not be such a heavy lift in the future. The de Blasio administration is moving forward with a measure to make zoning rules more flexible so that new gyms and other fitness facilities can set up…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":303919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/BrooklynGym.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[112278,5042,458,74949,87637,72217],"class_list":["post-303918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-7-20-21","tag-bill-de-blasio","tag-gyms","tag-permits","tag-urban-planning","tag-zoning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}