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<\/p>\nWhen Jean-Marie Buonomo, 42, joined Crunch Fitness in Bellmore as a new parent, accessible on-site child care topped her list of non-negotiables.\u00a0Crunch’s 1,000-square-foot child care center\u00a0was enough to lure her from her CrossFit studio.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eight years later, the stay-at-home mother of three children, age\u00a03, 6\u00a0and 8, works out at the gym up to five times a week, relying on the Kid\u2019s Crunch babysitting service\u00a0included with its highest membership level of $36.99 per month to support her mental and physical health routine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So when the Bellmore location’s Kid’s Crunch service faced cancellation earlier this year,\u00a0Buonomo knew she had to act.<\/p>\n
Lucero Ardiles, of Baldwin, brings her son, Matthew Mejia, 3, to Kid’s Crunch in Bellmore. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin<\/p>\n
“My first concern was for the women who work there,” says Buonomo, of Merrick. “They have cared for my children for eight years. I wanted to know how I could support them. And then\u00a0I was concerned for my family. How do I pivot?”<\/p>\n
Child care is not a perk for families; it\u2019s an essential need.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0Jean-Marie Buonomo, Crunch Fitness member\u00a0<\/p>\n
The babysitting “is not a profit center,” says\u00a0owner Lewis Breslau, who opened his first Crunch in 2014 and the Bellmore gym in 2016. “It costs us money and it used to be much more popular and busier. Although our member base is strong and we have more members, we have less kids. We are looking at 1,000 square feet of prime real estate, so we have to look at \u2014 what do members want?”<\/p>\n
Buonomo reached out to other Bellmore Crunch families and posted on multiple area parent Facebook pages like Bellmore\/Merrick Moms, asking parents to lobby the ownership to keep the service open. More than 100 people responded, Buonomo says, sending the center a lifeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juan Rodriguez, of Merrick, picks up his daughter Georgina, 1, from Crunch child care coordinator Jane Mundy. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin<\/p>\n
Finding a gym that offers babysitting has become harder on Long Island since the\u00a0pandemic. Many gyms, such as LA Fitness in\u00a0Lindenhurst, which offered it before, did not reopen their kids clubs following the shutdown, or are phasing them out, as LA Fitness in Farmingdale\u00a0did about three years ago. Crunch West Babylon recently completed a renovation that eliminated the babysitting room and transformed it into a leg and glute space.<\/p>\n
The rules at Kid’s Crunch Bellmore. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin<\/p>\n
Local gyms are feeling the child care squeeze even though\u00a0it may not be a nationwide trend. According to a 2025 fitness industry report from the Health & Fitness Association, a global nonprofit trade group, in 2024 just over half of U.S. fitness clubs (about 56%) offered on-site child care, which is slightly higher than pre-pandemic benchmarks, when roughly 46% of North American clubs offered care in 2018.<\/p>\n
And yet, locally, parents with young children say they are faced with diminishing choices.<\/p>\n
Matthew Mejia, 3, of Baldwin, plays with a toy after his mom, Lucero Ardiles, dropped him off during a workout. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin<\/p>\n
LITTLE OPTIONS<\/p>\n
“When Crunch West Babylon reopened after COVID and they had no child care;\u00a0I had to freeze my account,” says Gabriela Rivas, 35, a mother of three and owner of Haus of Glam hair salon in Copiague. She now goes to Crunch in Lake Grove, which is closer to her Ronkonkoma home and where there\u2019s babysitting.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lucero Ardiles, of Baldwin, exercises at Crunch in Bellmore after dropping off her son at the care center. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s definitely my only outlet,” Rivas says. “Everything I do is for others, for my kids and my husband, and then during the day for my work. It\u2019s literally the only time I do something for myself.”<\/p>\n
While gym members like Buonomo and Rivas wonder if staffing or liability might be drivers of this trend, Cody Conway, program administrator for FitPak, a California-based nationwide provider of insurance for fitness clubs, says it boils down to income-generation per square foot and attracting more members with different perks that hit current fitness trends\u00a0in the face of competition from more boutique studios like CrossFit and Orange Theory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Kids clubs have predominantly been a free amenity offered to give single and other parents a chance to work out,” Conway says. “But the industry is changing and moving to more wellness.” Outside babysitting services may cost parents on Long Island $20 per hour, according to child care service Care.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gyms need the space for cryotherapy, cold plunges and other services that are revenue-generating.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Cody Conway, FitPak program administrator<\/p>\n
“Studios are also grabbing market share from traditional health clubs, so the gyms are asking how they can offer similar services to bring them back,”\u00a0Conway says.<\/p>\n
THE FUTURE OF CRUNCH <\/p>\n
A look inside Kid\u2019s Crunch. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin<\/p>\n
Breslau, owner of Crunch Bellmore, as well as locations in East Meadow, Amityville, West Babylon\u00a0and Hauppauge, and two more in the works, says those were his considerations when considering closing Bellmore\u2019s Kid\u2019s Crunch. While Breslau says he did not directly see the appeals from Kid\u2019s Crunch parents, he heard about the outcry from his staff. And, after considering all factors, he decided to find a middle ground.<\/p>\n
“We are going to keep the Kid\u2019s Crunch, but make it a smaller space,” Breslau says. “Our own employees bring their children, so closing that particular location didn\u2019t feel right. I feel better about it.”<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Natalia Posada, of Seaford, exercises after dropping off her son, Hudson DeVerna, 4, at the care center. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin<\/p>\n
Breslau says Bellmore Kid\u2019s Crunch will stay as is until April or May and will be shifted only when the smaller space is ready in order to avoid disruption for parents. He does not expect any layoffs, though he’s considering additional member fees in the future to support the business.<\/p>\n
The larger space’s fate has not yet been determined, but\u00a0Breslau says it\u00a0may become a hot room for yoga and Pilates or a leg and glutes area.<\/p>\n
“I am thrilled for me and the other families with young children,” Jean-Marie Buonomo says. “It isn\u2019t a luxury or a perk. We have our children safe just steps from us and we model healthy habits for our children. And they are future members. I am really grateful ownership listened.”<\/p>\n
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