PureGym officially takes over Blink Fitness

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

PureGym officially launched 50-plus locations at former Blink Fitness outposts across NYC and New Jersey on Dec. 4 ... including the East Village stop at 100 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

New signage arrived here on Friday, making the transition official.

The company has been steadily upgrading and rebranding the former Blink locations to reflect PureGym's model: 24/7 access to what it calls premium equipment at an affordable price point. (The Avenue A location was 24/5, open all night on weekdays but not on weekends.) 

Per a rep: PureGym locations feature a full suite of strength-training equipment — free weights, barbells, racks and assisted machines — along with cardio offerings such as treadmills, ski ergs and rowers. 

Coming soon, however, is a new feature that's already generating some chatter elsewhere: the so-called "entry pods." 

At several locations across the city, members must step into a tube-like portal immediately after entering the building and scan their membership ID from the PureGym app. After a few seconds — once the system confirms their identity — the doors open and members are released into the gym. (Hell Gate recently explored the rollout of these portals.) 

Asked whether the East Village location will be getting the same setup, staff said yes — likely within the next month.

Whether the entry pods ultimately feel futuristic, dystopian, or just mildly annoying remains to be seen — but they're on the way.

Check the website for membership options. 

PureGym is a global operator with some 2.4 million members across more than 700 gyms worldwide. The company operates corporate-owned gyms in the U.K., Denmark, Switzerland and the U.S., along with franchise locations in the Middle East. 

Previously

Change is coming to Blink Fitness on Avenue A (and elsewhere)

The Blink Fitness chain, including the Avenue A outpost, is in flux following the gym chain's sale. 

PureGym, a leading U.K.-based operator, finalized its $121 million acquisition of Blink late last year, with plans to rebrand 67 New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania locations under the PureGym banner this year.

New signage about PureGym is up at the Avenue A outpost between Sixth Street and Seventh Street for current Blink members here and elsewhere (like on Fourth Street and Lafayette)...

What this means on Avenue A, though, is less clear. Staff members offered conflicting answers on whether the gym will close for renovations during the transition. There are also questions about whether membership prices will increase. 

Signage points to promises of new equipment, refreshed spaces, and "a feel-good, judgment-free community."

For now, the only certainty is that Blink's new app went live last week, requiring members to download it to access the gym.

PureGym, a budget gym brand, reportedly beat out Planet Fitness in the acquisition after Blink's Equinox parent voluntarily filed for bankruptcy in August 2024. 

[Updated] Reader report: Car crashes into Blink Fitness on Avenue A; driver flees

Several EVG readers shared that a car crashed into Blink Fitness on Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street just before midnight last night. After smashing the window to the left of the front door, the driver backed off the sidewalk and sped off. 

The gym was closed at the time, and there weren't any reports of injuries.

We're told that several people filmed the incident. The make and model of the vehicle are unknown at the moment. 

One reader, who only saw the aftermath of the crash, assumes that the driver was making a U-turn and hit the accelerator rather than the brake, lurching onto the sidewalk and into the window.

We'll update if/when more information becomes available. 

Blink is open this morning, and as of 7, the front window has yet to be replaced. 

Updated 

EVG reader Creature noted that workers boarded up the window around 11 a.m.

Updated

An EVG reader shared this video filmed immediately after the collision... the driver appears to have gotten out of the vehicle and inspected the damage before driving away... the license plate is not visible in the video...

 

Updated

EVG reader Chris Rowland shared these photos from inside Blink this evening...

... and there's a memento on the emergency plywood — the car's hood ornament...

Despite filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the local Blink Fitness outposts will remain open

After filing for bankruptcy on Monday, Blink Fitness said it may close an unspecified number of its 101 clubs. 

However, according to a report in Our Town, the 11 NYC locations, including on Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street and the NoHo outpost on Lafayette and Fourth Street, will remain open.

Equinox Group, Blink's parent company, is not filing for bankruptcy protection, per published reports.

Reported ABC 7: 

Around 25% of US gyms and studios permanently closed during the COVID-19 pandemic — roughly 10,000 facilities, according to the Health & Fitness Association, an industry trade group. Several major chains, including 24 Hour Fitness and Gold's Gym, filed for bankruptcy. 

Blink's bankruptcy shows the lingering impact of the pandemic on the fitness industry. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Blink temporarily closed all of its clubs, leaving it without revenue to fund operations. Blink said in its bankruptcy filing that it is still financially constrained by rent payments it had put off and was still trying to catch up on from the pandemic. 

The 98 Avenue A Blink location opened in October 2017 in the retail space of Ben Shaoul's luxury condoplex. 

Before the demolition, the vast retail space was East Village Farms. That building opened as the Avenue A Theatre in 1926. RKO operated it, followed by Loew's, and it closed in 1959. 

Bring back the Avenue A Theatre!