What an NYC rec center membership actually costs
A year of gym, indoor track and classes - and at some centers an indoor pool - for less than many New York gyms charge for a single month. Here is what each tier costs, what it leaves out, and where the centers are.
By Alex Oz · · 8 min read
The price list, in full
Parks runs 37 recreation centers across the five boroughs, and what you pay depends on your age rather than on which center you walk into.
Adults 25 through 61 pay 150 dollars a year for access to every center, or 75 dollars for six months. If you do not need a pool, the same year at any center without an indoor pool is 100 dollars, or 50 dollars for six months.
People 62 and over, veterans, and people with disabilities pay 25 dollars a year, and that tier covers every center, pools included.
Under 25 it is free. Youth under 18 and young adults 18 through 24 pay nothing at all and get access to every center. This is the single least known thing about the whole system.
New Yorkers aged 25 to 61 who hold an IDNYC card get 10 percent off any adult membership. You show the card at registration; there is nothing to apply for in advance.
There is no sign-up fee on top of any of this.
What the membership actually includes
Gyms and indoor tracks, exercise equipment, fitness and dance classes, sports programs, game rooms, arts and technology courses, and adaptive programs for people with disabilities.
Indoor pools are included only in the packages that cover all centers. That is the whole difference between the 150 dollar and the 100 dollar adult tier.
Instructor-led courses - aerobics, martial arts, music, yoga - may charge a session fee on top of the membership. The membership gets you into the building and onto the equipment; a structured course with an instructor is sometimes priced separately.
The pool question, which is the only real decision
Thirteen of the 37 centers list an indoor pool. Four of those are temporarily closed as of September 2026, which leaves nine pools actually open across the city.
The open ones are Brownsville, Shirley Chisholm and St. John's in Brooklyn; Asser Levy, Chelsea, Constance Baker Motley and Gertrude Ederle in Manhattan; and the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatics Center and Roy Wilkins in Queens.
Temporarily closed, pool included: St. Mary's in the Bronx, Metropolitan in Brooklyn, and Hansborough and Tony Dapolito in Manhattan.
If none of the nine is near you, the 100 dollar tier is the honest choice and saves you 50 dollars a year for a pool you were never going to use.
How to join
Download the Recreation Center Membership Registration Form from the Parks site, fill it in, print it and sign it by hand - the signature has to be handwritten - then bring it to any center with a government-issued photo ID.
Youth can bring a student ID, a passport or a birth certificate instead. Enrolling as a veteran or as a person with a disability needs one additional document; the Parks membership page lists which ones are accepted.
Payment is by credit or debit card, money order, or a check made out to City of New York/Parks and Recreation. Cash is not accepted anywhere, and refunds are not available once you have paid.
Gift memberships are sold at indoor recreation facilities citywide - call the center you have in mind.
Every center, borough by borough
Addresses as Parks lists them. Anything marked closed was temporarily shut in September 2026, so call before you travel.
Bronx
6 centers
Hunts Point Recreation Center, 765 Manida Street. Kwame Ture Recreation Center, 1527 Jesup Avenue. St. James Recreation Center, 2530 Jerome Avenue. Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, 3225 Reservoir Oval East.
Temporarily closed: St. Mary's Recreation Center, 450 St. Ann's Avenue, which has an indoor pool, and Owen Dolen Recreation Center, 2551 Westchester Avenue.
Brooklyn
9 centers
With an indoor pool: Brownsville Recreation Center, 1555 Linden Boulevard. Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center, 3105 Farragut Place, the newest in the city. St. John's Recreation Center, 1251 Prospect Place.
Without a pool: Fort Hamilton Senior Recreation Center, 9941 Fort Hamilton Parkway. Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center, 670 Lafayette Avenue. McCarren Play Center, 776 Lorimer Street. Red Hook Recreation Center, 155 Bay Street.
Temporarily closed: Metropolitan Recreation Center, 261 Bedford Avenue, which has an indoor pool, and Sunset Park Recreation Center, 4200 7th Avenue.
Manhattan
13 centers
With an indoor pool: Asser Levy Recreation Center, 392 Asser Levy Place. Chelsea Recreation Center, 430 West 25th Street. Constance Baker Motley Recreation Center, 348 East 54th Street. Gertrude Ederle Recreation Center, 232 West 60th Street.
Without a pool: Alfred E. Smith Recreation Center, 80 Catherine Street. Hamilton Fish Recreation Center, 128 Pitt Street. Highbridge Recreation Center, 2301 Amsterdam Avenue. J. Hood Wright Recreation Center, 351 Fort Washington Avenue. Jackie Robinson Recreation Center, 85 Bradhurst Avenue. Pelham Fritz Recreation Center, 18 Mount Morris Park West. Thomas Jefferson Recreation Center, 2180 First Avenue.
Temporarily closed, both with indoor pools: Hansborough Recreation Center, 35 West 134th Street, and Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, 1 Clarkson Street.
Queens
5 centers
With an indoor pool: Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatics Center and Ice Rink, 131-04 Meridian Road. Roy Wilkins Recreation Center, 177th Street and Baisley Boulevard.
Without a pool: Al Oerter Recreation Center, 131-40 Fowler Avenue. Sorrentino Recreation Center, 18-48 Cornaga Avenue.
Temporarily closed: Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center, 93-29 Queens Boulevard.
Staten Island
4 centers
Faber Park Recreation Center, Faber Street at Richmond Terrace. Greenbelt Recreation Center, 501 Brielle Avenue. Lyons Pool Recreation Center, 6 Victory Boulevard. Ocean Breeze Track and Field Athletic Complex, 625 Father Capodanno Boulevard.
Is it worth it
For anyone under 25 the question does not arise: it is free, and a free gym with an indoor track in a city this expensive is not a small thing.
For adults the maths is simple. 150 dollars a year is 12 dollars and 50 cents a month for a gym, classes and a pool. The catch is not the price, it is the building: these are municipal facilities with municipal hours and municipal equipment, and six of the 37 are shut for repairs right now. Visit the one nearest you before you pay.
At 25 dollars a year the senior, veteran and disability tier is the best value the city sells, and it covers every center including the pools.
Inside the rec centers this week
Programming listed at Parks recreation centers over the next seven days. Members get in; some instructor-led courses charge a session fee.
Updated Sep 24, 1:24 AM EDT