Opponents of a proposed Walmart in Brooklyn, NY, are targeting members and employees of Equinox to urge the club’s parent company not to follow through with the move.
Leaflets have been distributed at four Equinox clubs in Manhattan and Brooklyn in recent weeks, according to a report in Crain’s New York Business. The leaflets ask members to call Stephen Ross, the CEO of the Related Cos., which owns Equinox, and “tell him you don’t want your gym dues paying to bring Walmart to NYC,” the newspaper reported.
“Any claims that Equinox profits/dues are being used to bring Walmart to New York are completely false,” a spokeswoman for Related told the newspaper.
Crain’s reported last year that Walmart was targeting a spot in Related’s planned 630,000-square-foot Gateway II shopping center in East New York. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that Walmart was in advanced lease negotiations for space at the shopping center.
Related bought Equinox in 2006. Earlier this year, Equinox purchased four clubs from The Sports Club Co.