Y Specialty Fitness Lease Has Been Renewed
By LILLIAN COLEMAN
SUNY Institute for Local News
ONEONTA
The Oneonta Family YMCA and Bassett Healthcare Network have extended their lease agreement to offer Y Specialty Fitness services at FoxCare Center for an additional three years. The YMCA took over management of the former FoxCare Fitness in June 2023, after Bassett announced earlier that year that it planned to shutter the facility.
This new lease extension ensures that the fitness center on Oneonta’s east end will remain accessible at least into early 2028.
“This lease was made possible because both the YMCA and Bassett understand the deep value of accessible wellness services,” said YMCA Executive Director Frank Russo.
The agreement has allowed Y Specialty Fitness to offer exercise equipment and training tools ranging from weights, cardiovascular fitness machines, a lap pool, and a therapy pool to a specialty fitness zone. Along with the workout gear and spaces, the facility will continue to offer group fitness class schedules in strength training, spinning, yoga, high-intensity interval training, aqua aerobics, and Pilates, as well as personal training options.
The goal is to provide “something for everyone,” Russo said.
Since June 2023, gym memberships at Y Specialty Fitness have increased, with management eyeing a goal of 1,000 new members. The facility has added more fitness classes and upgraded its spaces. In April, Bassett Healthcare installed a new privacy wall to separate the public workout room from the outpatient rehab area. Bassett’s A.O. Fox Hospital still operates physical therapy and other rehabilitation services within the same space.
Russo reflected that the transition has gone smoothly for the YMCA and “has been effective in supporting both safety and privacy for members and staff.” Just a couple of months ago, in August, an investment in new Precor cardio equipment upgraded a large portion of the cardio floor. The member response to that addition has been highly positive.
As Russo emphasized, however, “This collaboration is about more than space or equipment—it’s about changing lives.”
It is the Y Specialty Fitness community—both its members and its employees—who have made this lease extension possible, Russo pointed out. The instructors, trainers, and staff have helped to support and create individual experiences for every member’s wellness journey, he said.
Marilyn Shaw recently found the Y Specialty Fitness staff and trainers to be quite literally life changing. After experiencing a silent heart attack and receiving a left ventricular assist device, Shaw said she knew that joining Y Specialty Fitness was the best way to ensure she kept exercising when her cardio rehab ended at FoxCare. She has now been a member for more than a year, and she credits Y Specialty Fitness for the fact that she has not needed a return visit to the hospital.
“I never have met that many people that care about people,” Shaw remarked in a video the YMCA recently shared to YouTube. “If anything does go wrong, I have somebody there to tell me what I should do next,” she explained.
Shaw hopes the Y Specialty Fitness space will always be there and encourages people to support them so their services can be around for anybody who might need them.
Y Specialty Fitness membership remains separate from Oneonta Family YMCA membership. Members of the downtown Ford Avenue location cannot use the FoxCare Center facility, and vice versa. Starting this past summer, however, the two locations began taking steps to open many of their classes and programs to members of both facilities.
Russo said this collaboration has been “very well received, allowing more people to access wellness opportunities in a shared space.”
The Y Specialty Fitness branch is open Monday-Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Adult membership costs $51.00/month or $540.00/year paid in full. Rates for couples are $88.00/month or $894.00/year. Discounted rates are available for veterans, young adults, teens and Fox/Bassett employees.
Regardless of whether these programs are the right fit for everyone, this partnership with Bassett allows the YMCA to further continue its mission to “build strong kids, strong families and strong communities,” Russo said.
The Oneonta YMCA continues to launch new programs, too, including a Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring Program, as recently reported by AllOtsego.
This story was created by student reporters through the OnNY Community Media Service, a program of SUNY Oneonta and the SUNY Institute for Local News.
