{"id":2753,"date":"2007-09-13T17:43:23","date_gmt":"2007-09-14T01:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2007\/09\/exercise_is_like_a_drug_sometimes_more_than_you_realize.html"},"modified":"2007-09-13T17:43:23","modified_gmt":"2007-09-14T01:43:23","slug":"exercise_is_lik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/archives\/2007\/09\/exercise_is_lik.html","title":{"rendered":"Exercise Is Like A Drug . . . Sometimes More Than You Realize"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get in shape and more at the local gym<\/a><\/p>\n

A window sign at Powerhouse Gym in Auburndale says “Three little words to live by: Look good naked.”<\/p>\n

Some of its members and employees may soon add three more words: “While in jail.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/p>\n

Outside Powerhouse Gym Friday afternoon, young men arrived with membership cards in hand only to find dimmed lights and shuttered doors.<\/p>\n

Many expressed shock and dismay, but few would identify themselves by name.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/p>\n

Max Vetrano and Vincent Avallone, two Bayside teenagers, nonetheless said they were stunned by the charges.<\/p>\n

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

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.”<\/p>\n

Ken Weiss, another gym member, said he and his wife were more concerned about their own health.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-law_order","category-queens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2753\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}