A group of over 1,500 gym owners from across the state, including at least 500 located in New York City, have filed a class action lawsuit against Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York state, and the state attorney general in an attempt to force the state to allow them to reopen.
The businesses involved in the suit include CrossFit, Pilates studios, yoga centers and big box gyms. Attorney James G. Mermigis, who is representing the gyms, told the Staten Island Advance that in addition to getting gyms reopened immediately, they also are looking for compensation for lost revenue over recent months.
“All these gyms want the same thing. They want to be able to open up in the same way other businesses have been opening up,” Mermigis said. “They want to be able to open up their businesses to prove they can open up safely, just like all these other businesses—like Walmart, Target, etc...”
However, Governor Cuomo said last week that going to gyms is a “dangerous activity” and they would remain closed for now. “Gyms have been a nationally identified source of infections,” Cuomo said during a press conference. “We know from the other states they’ve been highly problematic.”
A spokesperson for Cuomo's office, Jason Conwall, argued that the governor was well within his authority to keep gyms closed, and that doing so keeps the infection rate low.
"Reports show that infections are rising in more than 35 states, and that officials in those states have been forced to re-close businesses and other parts of the economy that were opened too early," Conwall said. "Every public opinion survey has shown an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers support our reopening approach. We understand that some people aren’t happy—but better unhappy than sick or worse. We fully intend to defend the actions taken in these matters.”
New York Fitness Coalition (NYFC), a not-for-profit organization, was formed this summer to advocate for the safe reopening of gyms. They sent a proposal to Cuomo last week that outlined certain safety measures that could be put in place as a standard for the fitness industry’s reopening. Those standards include temperature scans, limiting capacity, using individual props and equipment, and testing protocols.
“Every single month, each gym would get a grade based on the results of the test," Charlie Cassara, president of NYFC, explained to the Advance. "The test would show a gym is hygienic to open up, and it would show it’s as safe as it’s legally supposed to be. It would show that the organic matter that COVID viruses stick to isn’t present in our gyms. This rating system would be present in our windows and on our doors."
This week, Crunch has been sending out emails and social media messages encouraging New York members to write to local officials to encourage them to reopen gyms.
A similar debate about gym reopening has been raging in New Jersey as well, where defiant business owners have been closed down entirely for breaking the state guidelines on fitness centers. Ian Smith, one of the owners of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, had vowed to stay open during the pandemic, and his store was repeatedly closed and he was even arrested as a result; his mercantile license was revoked this week.
As the Times reported, some NJ gym owners have argued that "there is little difference between their businesses and martial arts, dance and gymnastic studios, which have been operating in New Jersey at 25 percent capacity for more than a month with no reports of an outbreak." At least 43 states have allowed gyms to reopen in some parts or all of the state. But health experts and doctors seem to be in agreement that indoor exercising with shared equipment poses significant risks.
