How Mamdani's warning to city health clubs could help Long Island members

Gyms and health clubs across New York City are being blitzed with "compliance" warnings against illegally deceptive advertising and hard-to-cancel memberships, the latest in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign against bait-and-switch pricing, his office has announced.

PureGym, Planet Fitness and Equinox are among nearly 200 of the recipients of the warning, Tuesday in a form letter from Sam Levine, Mamdani’s commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, the agency tasked with helping carry out an executive order the mayor signed on Jan. 5 "to monitor, investigate, and enforce violations related to subscription tricks and traps."

The three health clubs each has multiple Long Island locations. 

Newsday has reported that Mamdani’s fight against junk fees and other hidden charges would likely trickle out to Long Island and protect Long Islanders from becoming victims of the practice. Roughly 315,000 Long Islanders regularly commute to the five boroughs for work, and some use health clubs and gyms in the city.

"New Yorkers shouldn’t need a personal trainer to cancel a gym membership," Mamdani said in a statement. "If a company makes it easy to sign up but nearly impossible to walk away, we will enforce the law and protect your time and your money."

A statement sent by Geneve Lau of Burson, Planet Fitness’ outside publicity agency, said: "We believe our policies are already in accordance with applicable local and state requirements."

Equinox did not return messages Thursday seeking comment. Hannah Butler of the firm Sanctuary Counsel in London, which represents PureGym, said the company is reviewing what the department sent but is “confident in our cancellation process and our ability to support the mayor and residents of New York.”

Last year, Newsday reported, the state Attorney General's Office announced a $600,000 settlement with the company Equinox Group, which owns Equinox, Equinox+ and SoulCycle, on allegations that cancellations were made intentionally hard to do. Under the settlement, the company was required to improve its subscription practices and offer refunds to members who couldn’t cancel.

The state Attorney General’s Office — under multiple officeholders — has long investigated, and sometimes come to settlements with, gyms that allegedly make it difficult, if not near impossible to cancel, send long-ago-canceled accounts to collections agencies, or both.

In 2020, the office alleged that New York Sports Clubs, which includes a location in Oceanside, and the health club Lucille Roberts, both charged dues illegally and barred members from canceling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And in 2016, the office settled with six Synergy clubs, with locations in Farmingdale and Garden City, on allegations that the clubs "misrepresented and unfairly applied their cancellation policies" and "improperly billed consumers for memberships."

On Saturday, a city rule targeting bait-and-switch tactics goes into effect requiring the total cost of a hotel stay to be disclosed upfront, prohibiting hoteliers and booking sites from "sneakily" adding charges later on such as destination fees, resort fees and other hospitality service charges. The rule covers properties booked from New York City to any destination. For example, a Long Islander who is in the city and books a family vacation is covered.

Levine’s letter notes that state law mandates gyms and health clubs to allow cancellation through the web, email, phone, mail or in person. If subscribing can be done through a website, so must cancellation, according to Levine's letter.

"The law requires that a business provide the consumer with the option to cancel a subscription at any time that is as easy to use as the medium the consumer used to subscribe," the letter says, which also notes the agency "is not singling out your company or suggesting that you have engaged in deceptive conduct."

It also added that "a business must receive affirmative consent from a consumer ... for any increase in price or for a higher price than what was disclosed at the time of subscribing."

The Better Business Bureau, Reddit and other online sites detail stories of Long Islanders complaining about annoying business practices by Island gyms, echoing complaints nationwide.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.