Exercise Is Like A Drug . . . Sometimes More Than You Realize

Get in shape and more at the local gym

A window sign at Powerhouse Gym in Auburndale says “Three little words to live by: Look good naked.”

Some of its members and employees may soon add three more words: “While in jail.”

The gym, located at 34-09 Francis Lewis Blvd., was one of two shut down and deemed a public nuisance Friday at the culmination of an 18-month undercover police investigation that authorities contended discovered extensive drug activity.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the Auburndale Powerhouse franchise, along with Envy Us Gym at 126-19 20th Ave. in College Point, were “turned into drug supermarkets by many of the defendants, who openly and illegally sold performance drugs wanted by bodybuilders, as well as a cornucopia of highly addictive and potentially dangerous prescription painkillers and street drugs.”

Twenty-four people, including a store manager, a former police officer and a highly-ranked female lightweight boxer, were charged on various counts of criminal sales of controlled substances.

. . .

Outside Powerhouse Gym Friday afternoon, young men arrived with membership cards in hand only to find dimmed lights and shuttered doors.

Many expressed shock and dismay, but few would identify themselves by name.

“This is news to me. I lost a lot of weight at this gym,” said one young man sporting a tank top. Like others, he was frustrated and concerned that his $375 membership fee may now be wasted. “That’s money down the drain,” he complained.

. . .

Max Vetrano and Vincent Avallone, two Bayside teenagers, nonetheless said they were stunned by the charges.

“I wouldn’t think that this type of thing was going on here,” said Avallone. “I mean this is a pretty nice neighborhood.”

Vetrano added: “I could tell that some people who came in used (enhancement drugs), but I didn’t know they were actually taking them right here.”

Ken Weiss, another gym member, said he and his wife were more concerned about their own health.

“I don’t see why they have to close this place down,” he said, noting that Powerhouse is the only reasonably priced gym in the area. “They’re jeopardizing the health of a lot of other people who need to exercise by doing this.”