Reopening Gyms and Fitness Centers

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On August 17, 2020, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that gyms and fitness centers in New York State—which have been closed for months because of the COVID-19 pandemic—will be permitted to reopen as soon as August 24 and no later than September 2, 2020. Local elected officials will decide when within that 10-day window gyms and fitness centers may reopen. For those gyms and fitness centers that wish to reopen, they will be subject to certain rigorous health and safety standards. New York State Department of Health released detailed guidelines for the reopening, and those guidelines apply to residential gyms and fitness centers, including those in co-ops and condos. Read the guidelines, which take effect August 24, 2020, here and here.

Below is a summary of the guidelines and our recommendations for implementing them in co-op and condo buildings.

NOTE: The guidelines provide that residential gyms and fitness centers “must have staff available to ensure compliance.” It is unclear whether having staff available means that staff must be present at all times when gyms and fitness centers are open, or that regular inspections of gyms and fitness centers and monitoring of surveillance cameras by staff will suffice.

1. Capacity: Gyms and fitness centers are required to limit capacity to no more than 33% of the maximum occupancy. For buildings with gyms and fitness centers in high-demand, we recommend that a reservation system be implemented with reasonable limits on the amount of time per day and/or number of times per week reservations may be made. We further suggest considering a “soft” reopening, wherein the hours are limited for an initial period so that boards, managing agents and building staff may work out any kinks. Another option is to have gym and fitness center hours broken down into 1-2 hour sessions, and have users reserve the specific time session and equipment they will use. The gym and fitness center would then close for a period of time after each session for a thorough cleaning by building staff before reopening for the next session.
2. Access: Gym and fitness center users must sign-in upon entry (or remotely) and provide their name, apartment number and phone number for contact tracing purposes, and sign-in records are to be maintained for at least 28 days. In addition, users are required to complete and pass a health screening that, at a minimum, asks the user whether they have (i) experienced any COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days, (ii) tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days, (iii) come into close contact with anyone confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19 in the past 14 days, and/or (iv) traveled within a state with significant community spread of COVID-19 for longer than 24 hours within the past 14 days. We suggest preparing a form for each gym and fitness center user to complete that requests both the required sign-in and health screening information. In addition, the form should restate or attach all gym and fitness center-related house rules (for co-ops) or rules and regulations (for condos), and include a signature line for the user to sign acknowledging that they received, read and agree to them. The form also should provide that any failure to comply with the house rules or rules and regulations shall be a basis for requiring the user to leave the gym or fitness center and thereafter prohibiting them from future use.
3. PPE: Gym and fitness center users are required to wear an acceptable face covering over their nose and mouth at all times, provided they are able to medically tolerate a face covering. Acceptable face coverings include cloth-based face coverings and disposable masks. Bandanas, buffs and gaiters are not acceptable for use in gyms and fitness centers. Any users who are unable to medically tolerate a face covering must wear a face shield at all times, however the CDC “does not currently recommend use of face shields as a [sufficient] substitute for masks.” Face coverings and shields may be temporarily removed while drinking so long as 6 feet of distance is maintained from all others. Buildings should consider maintaining a supply of acceptable disposable face coverings in case there is a need for replacement.
4. Distancing: Gym and fitness center users must keep at least 6 feet distance from others at all times, unless safety necessitates a shorter distance (such as with spotting exercises). We recommend removing, rearranging or roping off closely-situated equipment so that users are at least 6 feet apart from each other in all directions. We also recommend installing floor tapes or decals to illustrate the distance that is required to be maintained.
5. Hygiene/Cleaning: Gyms and fitness centers need to be regularly cleaned and disinfected using Department of Environmental Conservation products identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as effective against COVID-19. Also, shared equipment and machines are to be cleaned and disinfected between every use. Cleaning and disinfection supplies should be made available, and gym and fitness center users should be required to wipe down all equipment both before and after they use it. Building staff should monitor all cleaning and disinfecting by users and supplement with additional cleaning and disinfecting as needed. Also, hand sanitizer should be provided and all users should be asked by building staff to sanitize their hands upon entry and periodically during their workout.
6. Classes and Trainers: Any group exercise classes are required to be by appointment/reservation only, and must adhere to the distancing, capacity and other guidelines. Since it will be challenging for most buildings to comply with the guidelines for classes, we recommend that buildings postpone allowing them for the time being or, to the extent possible, allow classes to be held in outdoor common spaces like building courtyards. Personal trainers are permitted, provided they maintain 6 feet distance from their clients and all others present to the maximum extent possible. Occasional, brief contact within 6 feet is allowed to address health and safety risks (such as correcting form or posture). Trainers must wear face coverings at all times, and clean and disinfect any shared equipment before and after use, including following exercise demonstrations. Because all persons are counted in capacity calculations and gyms and fitness centers must limit capacity to 33%, buildings with gyms and fitness centers in high-demand may want to consider prohibiting personal trainers.
7. Amenities: Shared water fountains are not allowed. Buildings with water fountains in or near their gyms and fitness centers should disable the fountains, if possible, or post signage or rope/tape off the fountains to make clear that they cannot be used. Communal showers also are not allowed. While individual showers/stall may remain open, provided that they are cleaned between uses, we suggest closing all gym and fitness center showers to help alleviate the additional cleaning burden on staff.
8. Air Handling Systems: The guidelines require certain levels of air filtration based upon the type of air handling system in gyms and fitness centers. For gyms and fitness centers with central air handling systems, the filtration is required to meet the highest rated filtration compatible with the currently installed filter rack and air handling systems, at a minimum MERV-13, or industry equivalent or greater (e.g., HEPA), as applicable, and be certified and documented by a certified HVAC technician, professional, or company, ASHRAE-certified professional, certified retro-commissioning professional, or New York licensed professional building engineer. Gyms and fitness centers with central air handling systems that cannot handle the aforementioned minimum level of filtration, must have a certified HVAC technician, professional, or company, ASHRAE-certified professional, certified retro-commissioning professional, or New York licensed professional building engineer certify and document that the system would be unable to perform to the minimum level of heating and cooling it was otherwise able to provide prior to the pandemic if such a high degree of filtration was installed. And, gyms and fitness centers that do not have central air handling systems are required to adopt certain additional ventilation and air filtration mitigation protocols per CDC and ASHRAE recommendations. Buildings should look to a licensed architect for guidance regarding these highly technical air handling system requirements.
9. Inspection. Gyms and fitness centers need to be inspected by the local health department prior to, or within fourteen days of, reopening. Since we anticipate that the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will be inundated with inspection requests, we recommend that boards and managing agents seek to schedule these inspections as soon as possible, and keep detailed records of the dates, times and names of the inspectors who perform all inspections.

Boards and managing agents should review with counsel their buildings’ governing documents (for co­ops, the proprietary lease, by-laws and house rules; for condos, the declaration, by-laws and rules and regulations) to confirm that any procedures they put in place regarding gyms are authorized by and conform with the governing documents. It likely will be necessary for boards to adopt new rules and regulations for using gyms and fitness centers and enforcing new rules and regulations, including the possible imposition of monetary fines against users who do not comply (provided the building’s governing documents authorize fines). We suggest enacting rules that explicitly provide for the removal and barring of persons who violate the rules and regulations, and for gyms and fitness centers to be closed if the board and/or managing agent or governmental authorities determine that continued operation poses a health and safety risk to persons in the building. The rules should be reinforced with signage posted inside and outside of gyms and fitness centers, reminding everyone entering of the hygiene, distancing, PPE and cleaning requirements.

If a board decides to reopen the building’s gym and/or fitness center, the board and its managing agent and staff should be prepared to diligently adhere to and enforce the governmental guidelines and the building’s house rules/rules and regulations. As always, in determining whether and how to reopen, their primary goal should be to protect the health and safety of residents and staff.