It\u2019s the pink mommy club of the Upper East Side. But only the well-connected seem to know it\u2019s there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Pearl \u2014 part fitness studio, part social club, part multigenerational event space for personal development programming and bachelorette parties alike \u2014 sits in a building like any other on a street like any other on the Upper East Side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no signage or reason to believe taking the elevator to the fifth floor will bring you anywhere other than a dentist\u2019s office or a tax consultant\u2019s cubicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside the 5,500-square-foot space, however, the ceilings are high and the feminine energy higher. Clusters of ponytailed women in neutral Alo sets chat about this weekend\u2019s wedding and last night\u2019s fund-raiser. \u201cRachel, where did you get that tan?\u201d one calls. \u201cSpray tan!\u201d she replies.<\/p>\n
The Pearl is a wellness club on the Upper East Side that caters to women of all ages. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
Down the hall, more break it down to Lil Jon\u2019s \u201cGet Low\u201d during a popular hip-hop class led by professional dancer-turned-Pearl founder Marcella Guarino Hymowitz, who\u2019d just chaired a youth ballet gala the night before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the expansive studio next door, others stretch and sculpt with Kara Liotta, founder of the Hamptons-favorite fitness company KKSweat. \u201cThere are a lot of crossover clients who live in this area,\u201d Liotta told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all drenched in pink: pink walls, pink tabletops, pink upholstery. There are pink-tinted glass tiles, pink exercise balls and a pink MacBook behind the front desk. There\u2019s even a pink mahjong set in the room where the ladies lounge and the tweens pose for TikTok.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love pink \u2014 I wore pink to my proms,\u201d Guarino Hymowitz said. The pastel palette is also a not-so-subtle nod to her background in ballet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harvesting The Pearl\u00a0<\/p>\n
Guarino Hymowitz, a philanthropist who\u2019s married to billionaire Gregg S. Hymowitz, opened The Pearl last summer after leading fitness classes for Upper East Siders in her home studio and in Central Park during the pandemic and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The former Knicks City Dancer wanted somewhere to continue teaching, as well as to house New York Cheer and Dance<\/a>, a youth cheerleading program she started in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time, the city didn\u2019t have such an offering, and Guarino Hymowitz\u2019s daughter \u2014 one of six kids in their blended family \u2014 took to cheer, like her mom, as her preferred after-school sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI need something with high ceilings so that we can do stunts, and I need somewhere where I can also do my dancing and my working out, and I want it to be for adults. I want it to be for kids,\u201d Guarino Hymowitz thought. \u201cAnd so I slowly started thinking, what is this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The very pink club has a fitness studio and events space \u2014 and plenty use it to socialize. Hilary Matt\/The Pearl<\/p>\n Most of the women who spend time there heard about it by word of mouth. Hilary Matt\/The Pearl<\/p>\n Turns out, it was The Pearl. The girly getaway bills itself<\/a> as a \u201chealth and wellness club dedicated to personal growth for girls, teens and women.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It hosts fitness classes from some of the city\u2019s most sought-after trainers, workshops on topics like healthy eating and journaling for stress, and events like book launches with pro ballerinas and dance parties for Galentine\u2019s Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s also space for working \u2014 or homeworking for the school-aged set \u2014 and vanities for freshening up after sweating it out.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom has a brand, and once I remember there was an event and it was uptown, and I had nowhere to get ready,\u201d said 13-year-old Pearl regular Scarlett, who lives in the West Village. \u201cSo I just came here because they had everything I need.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The girly getaway bills itself as a \u201chealth and wellness club dedicated to personal growth for girls, teens and women.\u201d\u00a0 Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n She also comes to hang out with her friends from camp and to dance \u2014 though not too strenuously on Sundays. \u201cWe\u2019re usually more tired [then] because we usually have bar mitzvahs on Saturday,\u201d Scarlett said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Pearl has everything adult devotees say they need too: workouts from industry-leading studios like Post House and the Sculpt Society for themselves; dance instruction ranging from hip-hop to jazz for their daughters.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a place to get out of their heads and into their bodies. A home away from \u2014 or in many cases, close to \u2014 home.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI just love that it brings us together, has created a community of like-minded individuals,\u201d said Natasha Caronna, a mom of 10- and 15-year-old girls who worked in fashion before becoming \u201chead of operations\u201d of her family five years ago.<\/p>\n A monthly membership at The Pearl costs $250 for one person and $450 for two. A family of three or more can join for $600 a month.\u00a0Each class costs an additional $30 to $50. Hilary Matt\/The Pearl<\/p>\n Pearl member Amanda Perrin (center) said it\u2019s a great place for modeling a healthy lifestyle to her twin daughters. She\u2019s pictured with friends Lesley Vecsler (left) and Natasha Caronna (right). Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re all striving for at our age \u2014 to connect with people who think the same and want the same for each other. And there\u2019s no judgment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Indeed, Scarlett\u2019s friend Olivia says the environment is more forgiving than the formal dance team she\u2019s on.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf I make a mistake here \u2014 like if in a dance there\u2019s something I don\u2019t understand \u2014 they\u2019ll actually explain it to me,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ll be like, \u2018Olivia, it\u2019s fine, just keep going, you got this.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A hidden gem\u00a0<\/p>\n Is there a (freshwater) catch?\u00a0<\/p>\n A monthly membership at The Pearl costs $250 for one person and $450 for two. A family of three or more can join for $600 a month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Each class costs an additional $30 to $50, depending on factors like season and time of day, age and whether you\u2019re a member or just dropping in.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s no sticker shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most boutique fitness studios<\/a> and high-end wellness clubs<\/a> charge comparable amounts. And unlike many of the city\u2019s elite social clubs, which charge plenty more, The Pearl requires no application or references to join. In fact, to work out there, you don\u2019t have to join at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMembership is completely optional,\u201d Guarino Hymowitz emphasized.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Pearl was founded by former Knicks City Dancer and philanthropist Guarino Hymowitz (center, leading the class). Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n But, as a word-of-mouth third space not on ClassPass, not on the ground floor and only modestly online \u2014 a search for \u201cThe Pearl NYC\u201d first turns up the hotel \u2014 the real barrier to entry seems to be knowing about it at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n A trio of moms joked they\u2019d prefer to keep it that way. Their tongue-in-cheek takeaway for less looped-in locals? \u201cThe place is no fun,\u201d they said. \u201cDon\u2019t come!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cool mommy and me\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Mother-daughter wellness hubs like The Pearl are, like its namesake, rare. Sure, there are family-friendly gyms and membership clubs<\/a>, but those have men and boys. There are co-working communities and professional societies, but those don\u2019t have kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Pearl, patrons say the cool factor appeals to Gens X and Alpha alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt has given me and my daughter something to do together on the weekends because often, now at 15, she\u2019s off with her friends,\u201d Caronna said. \u201cTo her, this is a very cool place. Marcella is a cool mom.\u201d There\u2019s no bargaining needed to lure her teen inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Pearl requires no application or references to join, nor is a membership required. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n Scarlett concurs. \u201cI personally love it because my sister, she\u2019s in fourth grade, she also goes here, like, all the time. She goes here with all her friends, and so does my mom,\u201d she said. \u201cI love to see different ages here.\u201d<\/p>\n Research<\/a> shows having an age-diverse social life may boost cognitive functioning and longevity, among plenty of other<\/a> mental and physical health benefits for both the young and the old(er).\u00a0<\/p>\n And while most studies looking at the benefits of real-life female role models for girls focus on kids in underprivileged communities or those pursuing traditionally male-dominated professions, Pearl moms find Tribeca teens can also gain from watching accomplished women prioritize self-care.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think about modeling and what a healthy lifestyle looks like in New York, it\u2019s really difficult to do because most women work out during the day and their kids don\u2019t see them being active, apart from whipping something up in the kitchen,\u201d said Pearl member Amanda Perrin, a CEO of a placement organization and twin mom of 10-year-old girls.\u00a0<\/p>\n Guarino Hymowitz said the space gives girls tools for life about self-esteem, wellness, body image, nutrition, health, community and friendship. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s special about this is that there have been [times] where the kids are doing classes and we\u2019re doing a class and they\u2019re seeing us take care of our bodies and what it means to take care of your mind and have a good time and laugh and dance,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it\u2019s setting a tone.\u201d<\/p>\n That tone is what Guarino Hymowitz was looking to strike when she christened her creation \u201cThe Pearl.\u201d The gem, her birthstone, requires time and the right conditions to shine.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe girls come in here and we protect them and we coat them and we give them tools for life about self-esteem, about wellness, about body image, about nutrition, about health and about community, about friendship, about what it means to be a good person and to help each other out and to be a team player,\u201d Guarino Hymowitz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re getting all those little things inside here, so when they emerge, they can emerge as pearls.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t