Manny Cantor Center

Can’t complaint about the gym. Good people and equipment. Always clean and a lots of space for everyone.
The only thing I don’t understand is why people in the lobby should still wear a mask. What’s the point because you don’t use it in the gym.

Manny Cantor Center is a great neighborhood gym. There are always cardio machines available and enough equipment to get a good workout. Ricardo is a GREAT personal trainer and I have heard positive reviews on other trainers as well. I have been a member since the gym opened and have always found the staff pleasant and helpful. I also love the big windows and natural light. There are not many gyms in NYC that have that.

I'm happy that they are increasing their hours this fall as I felt that was their one BIG shortcoming. I still wish they would open earlier than 9am on the weekends. Hopefully this is something they can consider in the future.

This is a great local gym with pleasant, dedicated staff. It has all the equipment you need - the same as a big-name gym but with a more intimate feel. Plenty of cardio and free weights, a Smith machine and other assorted lifting machines. It's clean, the locker room is nice, and the price is right for sure.

The place is reasonable clean people there are nice but theres just not much equipments there. Most of their machine are kinda old and a bit worn down. Not much classes and most of times classes would get canceled. The hours are shortest out of all the gyms in the area. Monday-Thrusday 7am-8pm, Friday’s ends at 7, and weekends hours are even worse it opens at 9am and closes at 3pm. Before Covid the gym was never like this. There used to much more equipment and classes but right now this place has just become a joke. And from speaking to one of the managers (Michelle) there, the gym will not be getting any new equipments or willing to extend their hours until September and that’s just a maybe and from what I hear their hours will only be extended a half hour more. This used to be a pretty good gym to go to but not anymore. For what you paid ($70 per month) you’re better off going somewhere else around the area with better hours newer equipments and much more classes. I speak to a lot of the members there and they all complain about the same issues. Summer is right around the corner and still, knowing this management is still not willing to work in the best interests of their members. Until they fix these issues this place is absolutely not worth it at all. I’m very disappointed. My advice to people that are planning to join is that they should wait til after September when summer ends and don’t do a yearly contract this way you can cancel any time.

I really wanted to love this place as the general area lacks gyms. I was a member for a few months before quitting. No matter what time of day, the gym is always crowded. I know it's NYC but this gym is small. I also didn't find it to be that clean or well kept unfortunately.

Only been a member for 2 weeks and was charged after for a membership I didn’t even buy, and charged the 1st of the month when I’ve only been a member for 2 weeks and couldn’t get a refund because apparently everyone gets charged the first of the month.if you go here and you sign up later in the month like the 25-31 watch out cause they will charge you the 1st if the month even when you just started.worst experience ever here at the fitness, the 2nd star is cause the gym is the only things that’s decent and I met some janitor who was pretty cool

The stress of being on the edge of bankruptcy is very well reflected in the staffs attitude. Constant rudeness, extremely vicious name calling and slurs. An absolute and all around 1 star. If I could rate it 0 stars I would.

It is a horrible gym with terrible staff. The equipment is bad. They have very few machines and have a monkey bar set that takes up an enormous amount of space. The gym is definitely not worth the price, would recommend any other gym.

Terrible Gym experience! I was kicked out on my second visit here because they claimed I didn't have the proper identification! Which i did! But whatever their equipment is garbage, and the man running the place is at least 300 pounds and not in the jacked way! 1 STAR

The staff is very disrespectful and they clipped my lock while I was working out. Very unprofessional!

This is a really good gym with great trainers, a fine management team that keeps it as clean as you can expect, and clients who are for the most part friendly and respect each others' space - enough to be workable. And the sunsets/sunrises, views of Seward Park and the neighborhood are beautiful and inspiring.

If that's good enough for you, drop in for a workout and talk to the staff.

Otherwise here are my thoughts on the (mostly) pros and some cons:
I could be wrong, but I think it was a couple years ago that Exos corp took the place over. The drawback to this imo is the small community feeling of the place was lost. The old guard trained along side - and interacted with - the members more, and I would run into a few of them in the local parks and cafes. I miss that.

Still, the staff here are very friendly and know most by name, and you should not let any of the negative reviews about the staff dissuade you in the least.

Exos brought a lot of mostly positive changes to the setup of the gym, especially the weight training floor. I've been in a dozen gyms in the city, which is enough to know that they all have the same challenges of satisfying the needs and requests of their clients with the amount of space they have and what their insurance will allow. This facility is HUGE, so they've had more space than most to play with.

Before Exos, there was one power rack and one Smith Press and there was always a wait. There were no battle ropes, no climibing wall, not enough treadmills, tons of bikes gathering dust, and not that many classes. All that has changed for the better.

Now we have two power racks, a Smith Press, and more dumbells and no one really has to wait long - if at all. They also added a handsome modular Beaverfit box which is incredibly diverse and allows one set of barbell hooks and one set of catches. Plenty of us use the hooks and catches for types of racking they were not designed for, and for which dedicated racks should probably be used, but management never objects.

At a total of 4 useable barbell racks, plus the floor for deadlifts, that's more accommodating than most gyms.

I'd like to see the following changes:
- Add one more set of hooks for the Beaverfit ($40)
- Anchor the battle ropes to the North wall instead of the corner of the Beaverfit (Ditch one of the treadmills, move the kettlebell rack 3 feet to the east) This would allow members to stand on the training floor safely while using the ropes; right now, some stand in between the power racks (unbelievably dangerous) or in the opening of the hallway leading to locker rooms.
- A small space to get into and out of handstands safely against the wall.

The culture and clients there are fine overall. You'll find a large variation in concepts of personal space and courtesy. Not model, but fine.

Beginners will be comfortable. There are experienced trainees whose lifting is really impressive, safe, and just.strong AF. There are also people who get themselves into trouble - I pulled 185 lbs off a guy's chest last week after he managed to eek out the word "help. " It happens, but it should not happen.

The clients are also really diverse - which I like. We have all fitness levels, ages, nationalities, & a bunch of religions. There seems to be room for everyone. I love seeing old guys on the treadmill wearing jeans. More power to you.

As a therapist treating sports injuries and chronic pain for 15 years, I have several clients in common with two of the trainers there - I know them to be professional and very very good at what they do.

There is one who is absolutely unsafe and you must not train with. You'll know this person because they're ok setting you up in very close proximity to other equipment and people. For ex: I saw them have a client run through an *agility* ladder carrying a medicine ball, less than arm's reach from a barbell, and then down the hallway towards the locker rooms and back - but you'll be in good hands with all the other trainers there.