West Village Neighbors Sue Equinox Gym Over 'Ear Splitting' Noise

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Neighbors of an Equinox gym in the West Village are so fed up with the "ear splitting" noise from the trendy workout space that they're suing the gym to try and force it to turn the volume down, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday night.

Residents of the Printing House Condominiums, located at 421 Hudson St., say that the noise from Equinox is constant and very, very loud. According to the suit, the gym emits a steady drumbeat of dropped weights, loud pop music and enthusiastic instructors yelling at classes to finish just one more rep. The lawsuit, filed by the building's board of managers, is seeking $500,000 in damages, as well as injunction that would force the gym to town it down.

At Equinox Printing House, a membership to the luxe club starts at about $200 per month. An Equinox spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Residents of Printing House, where a vacant four-bedroom is currently listed at $12.5 million, say that Equinox "deliberately raises up the bass levels ' full throttle' so that the walls and floors of the surrounding residential units literally shake and tremble."

The condominium's board said in the suit that they were forced to seek legal recourse after repeated requests from residents went ignored. One resident, who said in an affidavit that he lives directly above Equinox, claims the noise is so loud that he can tell which instructor is running any given workout class, because the instructor's voice can be heard so clearly in his apartment.

"Indeed, it is almost as if I am in the Exercise Studio, not a floor above in my home," he wrote.

Other residents complained in the suit that the gym's rooftop pool often leaked into floors below, and that the gym improperly used electric service meant only for the condominium. (For more news from the West Village, subscribe here for free breaking news alerts and updates from Patch.)

Update: Equinox president Jeffrey Weinhaus said in a statement that Equinox had invested $10 million upgrading its facility and that complaints about noise were limited.

"While we are operating in accordance with our permitted use and in compliance with all laws, we continue to address all issues diligently," Weinhaus said in the statement. "The suit from the Condo Board is misleading and grossly misrepresents the facts."

Lead image via Guido De Bortoli / Stringer / Getty Images Sport.