New Fitness Center With Spa And Juice Bar Coming To UES

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A new fitness center is taking over the former New York Health and Racquet Club space on York Avenue, and its owners told Patch it will be more than just another gym.

Set to open shortly after Thanksgiving, the three-story, 13,000 square-foot York Club Fitness facility will combine a traditional gym with brand-new equipment, a full-service spa offering physical therapy, and a juice bar. Inside the gym, expect cold plunges and a sauna as well, the owners said.

But the real goal, operating partner Suzanne Park said, is to build a gathering place.

"We want this to feel like a second home," the Upper East Sider told Patch.

"We're trying to create more of a community by giving people opportunities to have human interaction, so that's what we have with the Juice Bar, and we also have a Wi Fi lounge, so people could actually sit and do work through their workouts, take a call, and we're already starting to do events."

Though not open yet, the fitness center's owners hosted a Yankees watch party and happy hour event at the Pony Bar to start building its community. In the community spirit, Park also said the gym has been working to hire local Upper East Side-based trainers and gym professionals.

The club’s team has been running boutique gyms in New York for more than 25 years, and says this project is its biggest yet.

The Upper East Side location was chosen in part because of what Park called a “clear void” of fitness options east of Second Avenue, after the New York Health and Racquet Club closed in 2020.

"I live on the Upper East Side, a little bit north in Yorkville, and there's really like, a clear void of any recreational center in this area on York Avenue," Park said.

The gym plans to cater to everyone from young professionals to older residents with senior-friendly classes, Park said.

Membership pre-sales are underway, starting at $149 a month.

"It's not just a gym — we have a personality, a community here," Park said.

York Club Fitness is located at 1433 York Ave. in Manhattan.

Know of a business opening or closing in Manhattan? Email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.