FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Neighbors in Forest Hills will (finally) have a new place to workout come Monday.
Planet Fitness is opening on the ground-floor of a luxury building at 107-02 Queens Boulevard Monday morning, a spokesperson confirmed with Patch.
The fitness club opens its doors at 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and an hour earlier during the weekend, according to the website (despite initial promises that it would operate 24 hours a day during the week).
Forest Hills’ State Senator Joseph Addabbo toured the fitness club ahead of its opening, revealing photos of the gym’s signature purple-and-yellow interior complete with rows of cardio machines, weights and hydro massage cool-down chairs.
The gym, which will be located near 70th Avenue abutting MacDonald Park, has been years in the making: its permits were first approved by Forest Hills’ community board in 2020.
When Planet Fitness announced in January it would open this summer, though, some locals said they would rather see a supermarket open in its place, Patch reported.
Others, however, were excited to welcome an affordable gym to the area — a sentiment shared by the company’s leadership.
“We’re excited to bring a clean, non-intimidating and friendly workout environment to Forest Hills,” said James Innocenti, Chief Operating Officer of PF Supreme LLC, a Planet Fitness franchise.
“Our affordable memberships allow members to stay active and avoid the heat all throughout the summer.”
Ahead of the opening, Planet Fitness offered a now-suspended deal on cheap memberships sans cancellation fee, but its Classic Membership is still among the least expensive in the city — $10 per-month plus $1 deposit and $40 annual fee.
All told, 14 employees have been hired to staff the Forest Hills Planet Fitness, and the gym is still looking to fill more positions, a spokesperson said.
The Queens Boulevard outpost will be the gym’s seventh location in Queens, but its first in Forest Hills.
Its other locations are located in Jamaica, Howard Beach, Jackson Heights, Astoria, and Long Island City.
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