St. Mary's Recreation Center is a rare amenity in the South Bronx. Its swimming pool, gym, boxing ring and basketball courts give the neighborhood, where two in five people live in poverty, a full range of athletic choices free.
Starting July 1, the city's Department of Parks and Recreation plans to set membership fees of $50 to $75 a year at St. Mary's and five other recreation centers, all of them in low-income neighborhoods in the Bronx, Manhattan or Brooklyn. Children 17 and under would still be admitted free, and adults would have the option of paying the mandatory annual fee in two or four installments. Residents 55 and over would pay only $10 a year.
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The effort to expand fees has drawn criticism from some park activists, politicians and historians. They have noted that the six centers are in neighborhoods with high rates of obesity and diabetes, health problems that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has pledged to confront.
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Parks officials say that New Yorkers have many more recreational opportunities now, at a time when fitness is emphasized. They note that many private gyms charge up to $200 a month, not to mention initiation fees as high as $800. "This is still the best deal in town," said Warner Johnston, a spokesman for the Parks Department, who added, "Fifty dollars doesn't typically cover the price to join a private gym, let alone cover most monthly charges."
http://nytimes.com/2006/03/18/nyregion/18recreation.html?hp&ex=1142658000&en=78c0a53ab95c7c5f&ei=5094&partner=homepage
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