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Urban Spin Closes Its Lakewood Doors Due To Virus

Urban Spin announced via Facebook it has closed its Lakewood doors due to COVID-19 and prolonged closure. P-J file photo

A 3-year-old Lakewood business is closing its doors due to COVID-19 and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s continued closure of gyms.

Urban Spin opened its doors to the public in January 2017 at 110 Mall Blvd. in Lakewood across from the Chautauqua Mall with 15 stationary bikes and LED lights in sync to music. The facility started with business partners Kristie Lyon, Melanie Preiss and Calin Preiss.

On Thursday, their three-year ride came to an end.

“Mel, Calin and I have had to make this heart-breaking decision to close our doors at Urban Spin,” the business said in a Facebook post. “Our studio was doing great and things were looking up for us to keep growing. COVID and the governor keeping us closed has drained anything that we had in the bank. We continued to make rent, MINDBODY, insurance, utilities and bike lease payments. We sold some bikes to help keep us afloat but we cannot bankrupt ourselves at this point. We have been given a buy out for the bikes and the lease of our building which one will completely deplete our bank account. We then have to sell the bikes to pay back the loan for the bikes which leaves us with nothing. No studio, no bikes, no instructors, no clients.”

The business said it has sold its bikes to another gym and expects to be out of its Mall Boulevard building by Aug. 31.

“We know from the other states,” Cuomo said Thursday during a news conference. “They opened them and they had to close them. That’s a fact.”

According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, Robert Mujica, state budget director, said the state is considering reopening proposals submitted by gyms across state.

Gyms — along with movie theaters, bowling alleys and a few other businesses where people congregate — were originally included in the last of the state’s four phases of reopening. They were removed at the last minute and haven’t received any guidance since.

Reviewing reopening plans isn’t enough for Urban Spin’s owners to continue holding out hope they will be allowed to reopen.

“COVID has destroyed many local businesses and we have held out as long as we could,” the Facebook post said. “The governor is giving no indication of allowing gyms to reopen and small businesses such as ourselves have suffered greatly and are not able to continue.”

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