Metropolitan Pool and Recreation Center

Metropolitan Rec Center pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has women only hours (Sunday 2:45PM — 4:45PM) which do not accommodate men. Having experienced gender discrimination at Asser Levy, I am upset and disappointed that this sort of discrimination is widespread in New York Rec Centers. New York Rec centers is a part of NY Park Systems that are publicly funded with tax dollars. As a public, tax-​payer funded entity, the rec centers have an obligation to treat men and women equally in all respects. Seperate is NOT equal.

I joined because I am currently participating in the swim lessons. For $ 75 for 6 months I would say that is very good. The pool is nice and the locker area is not bad. But I must say the bathrooms which is next to the lockers are not the best. I do see they have gym classes and activities for the kids which is good. After my lessons I think I will stay and enjoy the pool for swimming since it is a good price for all the things they have. Everyone so far has been nice as well. No isues from my part.

This pool is nice however the bathrooms and the locker room is disgusting!!! There is hair all over the floor and its just very very dirty. I understand that its very cheap but still arent there some standards of keeping the place clean.

This is a pretty decent pool (and great for the price) but the patrons here seem like serious swimmers, and I just came here for a little workout. They were kind of intimidating, and after a while I felt self-​conscious under everyone’s judgmental eyes. I think I’ll find another spot that’s more my speed.

They’ve done repairs! There’s hot water in the shower and the pool is warm!
The problem with the life guards opening all doors persists, so please, don’t hesitate to bring up the issue with them… maybe they’ll give in…

I’m giving it 4 stars because it has great value. It’s tough to find a pool in NYC and this one is affordable, decent size (25 yards), and reasonably clean (not spotless but not gross). Reasonably helpful and very friendly staff. Adequate locker rooms — FYI showers are not private for those who care. Bring your own towel.
If this place charged anything like a private gym it would get few stars (or maybe the minimum of one). But you get what you pay for — and here they’ve done a solid job considering it’s a city facility and just $ 15/​month. As long as you don’t expect anything remotely sparkly or fancy for that price, you’ll be quite happy with what the city provides.
This review is based only on pool and locker facilities and front desk service. Haven’t used other facilities.

Ok– its a gross locker room! It’s yukky! It’s NYC! But… the pool is really awesome and clean! The swimmers are courteous and fast! It’s a challenging place to get in shape! But the hours suck.

The facilities are decent. Honestly, I like the people more than the facilities. The life guards & front desk staff have all been very friendly. I got a spot in their adult swimming class through a lottery system and I am love the classes. The teachers are very patient and a great bunch. During the week I try to make time to go practice and the lifeguards always feel sorry for me and help me out (it’s great but not great that I can’t swim). The lifeguards are always encouraging telling me, ‘don’t worry, you’ll learn and helping out). So far I’ve had great experiences here. Yes the facilities could be better but it’s not too bad

Last night was the first time I’d ever attempted swimming laps for exercise. That being said, I obviously don’t have much experience with any public or private pools.
STAFF: The lady at the counter, while slightly distracted by conversation with her co-​worker, was very pleasant and helpful. The lifeguards didn’t seem capable of guarding a life. Thankfully there were about 10 former swim team type «bros» in the fast lane who I’d trust to save anyone seriously in peril.
FACILITY: The locker room was slightly crowded, and not «nice» by any standards, but I was perfectly fine with modestly changing under my towel. The showers were actually warm and there was soap in the dispensers. Plenty of hooks for towels in the pool and plenty of kick-​boards and tow buoys, although I’ll bring my own kick-​board next time. I obviously started in the slow lane. A good friend of mine who used to swim competitively joined me and was able to offer some coaching which really helped. The slow lane wasn’t too crowded and I could practice as much as I liked without having to wait for more than a 30 seconds. The water was a little chilly on first entry but once you got moving it was perfect.
EXPERIENCE: All in all it was a good one. I’m looking forward to getting in shape and I’ll be trying a few morning swims as well to see when the pool is the least crowded.

75 dollars for 6 months. If you need a workout or swim space, its functional.
Its a NYC Govt gym. I call it Thug Gym. Its friendly enough, but the weight room and lockers are grim (The floor can indeed be wet in spots, people are coming from the pool to change). Heatless non private shower, as opposed to fancy NYSportsClub.
Its literally the inverse of the amenity you get at the highpriced places! But if you need basic cardio/​weight/​swim and you have patience, this long-​serving grim, non-​spacious institution is a great resource.
The pool has a schedule: for kidgroups, women only, open swim, etc. You MUST bring a towel and lock, or you’ll be turned away if they check. Now go check it out and make your own comment.

The price is totally amazing, but the facility is a bit grim, (picture it: Werkmeister Harmonies hospital ransacking scene). There are some rather unabashed naked people in the locker room, it’s difficult to see the ends of the lanes due to lack of contrast, and the fast lane can be a total sausagefest… but otherwise a decent way to keep up your pace during the off season. The lanes are unusually wide, which is nice. But the pool is tiled, so be careful on those flipturns, or you can slice your foot open. I love the cap rule, it keeps the hairballs in check. I’m even ok with the fact that it’s a bit on the warm side for my liking, though based on the earlier reviews, it looks like winter will be kickass. I just love to swim, and this is where it’s at until McCarren opens again.

Who says working out in NYC can’t be affordable (or even ridiculously cheap)? This place is $ 6/​month. Seriously. Six dollars a month. No gimmicks, no commitments. With that said, it’s a VERY basic gym… with a pool. There’s a weight room (total sausage fest) and another room with treadmills and other cardio equipment. The walls are green. There is usually at least one treadmill broken at any given time. But you’re not here for the frills, right? You’re here because you want to save money and get a good workout in. You can do that here.

Currently taking free swimming classes here (won a lottery from the NYC Parks system). The pool is a bit cold, but is clean and well kept. Locker rooms are acceptable (they have different sized lockers), but there are only a couple of showerheads and even fewer toilets.

Well… its no Equinox, but it does the trick !!
At $ 75 for 6 months, this has got to be the cheapest gym/​pool combo in NYC.
I’d highly recommend joining the Metropolitan Pool and Recreation Center. This place has treated me nicely over the past 6 months, and I am about to renew my membership.
The pool has kinda whacky hours, but considering I don’t work a 9 – 5, I always manage to find time to swim. Beware, if you try to swim at 6 pm it will be packed.
The cardio room and the strength training rooms are both legit enough for the price. Nothing is state of the art, and there is not a flat screen tv anywhere to be found, but I thoroughly enjoy exercising here nonetheless.
Bring a towel, bring a lock, try to go at off-​peak times (because it isn’t huge), & always check if the toilet has toilet paper before sitting down (yes, I had to learn the hard way).

To start, a few statements in defense of this pool:
If it’s too humid for you in the locker rooms in the summer — it’s a locker room. In a pool facility. In the summer. You’re going to spend the next hour or more in the water anyway, then go back outside where it’s humid, then go down to the subway platform where it’s as hot as Gerard Butler’s crotch, then surface in some other place for more abuse. So shut the hell up and get in the shower.
If it’s too cold for you in the winter — welcome to New England/​NY. Besides, a cold shower makes for easier adjustment to the temperature of a pool that’s cool enough for actual lap swimming.
If the conditions are dirty, quit blaming the staff. They didn’t make the filth — the pool users did, and that includes those who obliviously left the place in greater disrepair since it wasn’t chic enough to merit their respect.
If your items were stolen — did you bring a lock, or do that «Williamsburg is for lovers» bullshit and stuff all your crap in a wide open locker?
Moving on, maybe I was lucky, but when I walked in here today, I did not encounter a rude staff. Anyone generalizing that a bad attitude usually accompanies NYC pool staff should acquaint themselves with more of the city’s 54 swimming facilities before finalizing their statements.
Also, they do take credit card. It’s cash they don’t accept. The annual fee for ALL of NYC’s indoor pools and exercise facilities has indeed risen to $ 150, but they also sell 6-​month admissions for $ 75, so one loses nothing by committing to a shorter period.
They do not process payment without a physical credit card. They do not offer one-​day trials or one-​day admissions. All this was a pain in my ass, but I knew I was the idiot with a memorized credit card trying to buy my way in at 7 p.m. on a weeknight.
The three helpful men at the desk told me I’d have to wait 30 minutes for a guy to return from his dinner break before registering. I took sat at a wooden bench in somewhat of a huff, only to have one of the guys soften his stance and let me sign a little book, flash my ID, and go in. He told me I could come out and do the registration later rather than just sitting there.
Let’s rewind to the CHARACTER oozing from this brick building whether you know anything about its history or not. Emerging from the Bedford stop on the L — that portal of hipsters trolling to and from the city — I did the six block dash towards Metropolitan Avenue. Temptations were everywhere; bodegas, taco carts, Salvation Army, strains of Fleetwood Mac from a bar. Luckily, it was raining, I didn’t have money, and I was on a mission.
As I ascended the steps, a waft of pool steam knocked me back in time through the history of my own life of swimming and through history itself. Built in 1922 as a legit bath house (not where you go to relax in saunas, but where you go to literally take a bath) and opened in 1935 for recreational purposes, the pool was a feat of architecture at the time:
One step through the door, and the pool was RIGHT THERE behind the front desk, behind glass. I could see the huge skylight ceiling and people going back and forth in the 75′ lanes (36 round trips = 1 mile).
The locker room was small, but well spaced and not filthy. The lockers were midsized, and held one large umbrella, my shoes, and my L.L. Bean backpack from the junior high days. True, a dripping wet hipster chick with an unlocked locker full of crap soon took over my area, but this happens in every pool facility in the world, both public and private.
Proceeded to an open area where high showerheads with low water pressure dispersed the desired temperature of spray from an adjustable dial. It had no automatic shut off function, so right away that was an upgrade from my darling outdoor pools of summer.
When I plunged into the fast lane, I saw that the entire tank was lined in brick shaped white tiles. It was simply amazing. And, after thrashing around all summer in a gigantic pool with no rules and CURRENTS, this pool appeared to me as what swimmers call a «fast» — I could literally feel the 7 feet of water in the deep end buoying me upwards and across the lane.
Yes, it was crowded-​like every fucking other place in the metropolis. I was just a bit slow for the showboaters in my lane but decidedly too fast for other lanes. So, I worked to keep up, and shrugged it off when the prick behind me touched my feet three times before finally (and barely) passing me, etc, etc.
Later, the staff let me go when I blubbered that I wanted to come back with a different credit card because I’d get miles on it.
Deepthroating a German chocolate bar on the train because I deserved it, I basked in that sensation of half quease and half exhilaration that comes from pushing yourself just the right amount past The Usual.
Conclusion: this pool is FINE, maybe even great.

The Metropolitan Pool’s only upside is its price, which has been well documented in other reviews. However, I’ve been a member for 6+ months now and there are some consistently, seriously frustrating elements.
First, in the summer the men’s locker room (and I’m assuming the women’s) is insufferably humid; I sweat more changing into and out of my clothes than I do in the gym itself.
Second, swimmers enter the locker room dripping wet, sit on the benches naked and generally make it impossible for everyone without flip-​flops to change sneakers without either getting their feet wet or performing a balancing act atop their shoes. The swimmers have a «towel-​off» area, mind, so their flooding of the locker room is rather inexcusable.
Third, the staff is unfriendly, a fact that is unsurprisingly true for all New York City-​sponsored recreation centers. The front desk grunts answers.
Fourth, they have eight treadmills, but four of them have been broken since December. Four. Since December.
In conclusion, the price certainly is in line with the services.

during non-​winter this place is fine. I mean for 80 bucks a year you can’t expect Equinox standards. But when winter comes around, and they have a sign stating that «by law,» everyone MUST shower before entering the pool, and they don’t provide hot water in the showers, it’s almost a human right violation.
It should also be a law to provide hot showers for members.

Metropolitan Pool and Recreation Center
$ 75/​year or $ 37.5÷6 months — access all NY Parks & Recreation Centers
*Remember to bring a medium or full-​sized towel and strong key lock.
Okay staff.
Indoor pool.
Treadmills
Ellipticals
Steppers
Recumbent Bikes
Upright Bikes
No power rack
1 x Flat Bench and Incline Bench
1 x Inverted Leg Press
1 x Cybex? Pull-​up & Dip (V-​Style) Station
1 x Cable Fly
Limited Selection of Weight Machines
Dumbbells
6 x 100 lb plates and enough 45s to max out an olympic barbell if you could lift that much.
You can get very strong lifting here with a little imagination.
Powerlifters see Brownsville for three 9 foot closed power racks!
Or Thomas Jefferson for two open power racks.
Or Asser Levy for one power rack (not recommended for +500 lb. lifts).
Olympic Lifters see Lost Battalion Hall for a dedicated instruction and training facilities (additional fee required).

I am a hard working gal and a full time student. i really just need a gym to do cardio. it does the job just fine. its not fancy but its sooo affordable and has the basic amenities. everyone is super chill when i go and they keep to themselves.
75 $ for the FULL YEAR! just in my price range. also i live on bedford ave… so it’s the closest gym. well there is SOMA but its out of my price range.
(can’t comment on the shower room. i use my own in my apt. down the street)

For a public swimming pool & fitness center, this place isn’t half bad. The whole first floor consists of a large pool with 3 general lanes — Fast, Medium, and Slow. There are men’s and women’s showers complete with lockers, just bring your own lock. Lifeguards are usually on duty when it’s swimming hours. Call ahead before you go, but it’s usually in the morning and the evenings for adult swims.
Upstairs they have a fitness room, and a work out room. Last time I was there, the Air Conditioner was broken and there was a petition going around to get the Dept. of Parks and Rec to fix it.
Most importantly, it’s super cheap. Something like 40 bucks for 6 months, or 76 for a year. You can’t beat that. Just make sure you bring a swim cap, they’re mandatory.