By Bill Parry
They are climbing the walls at Brooklyn Boulders Queensbridge. Finally.
The new state-of-the-art rock climbing gym at the Q41 Building, at 23-10 41st Ave., has opened with limited operating hours during its first few weeks. Visitors and several hundred members already have access to the gym’s bouldering and top roping walls.
“We’re still waiting for a final inspection before we put in all our fixtures and equipment,” Brooklyn Boulders owner Lance Pinn said. Brooklyn Boulders Queensbridge was expected to open in the summer, but there were delays for the necessary permits.
“We’ve been under construction for nearly four years. We started when there was still dirt for a floor,” Pinn said. “The wait wasn’t a surprise because there’s 5,000 developments under construction in New York City. We just had to wait our turn patiently.”
In addition to the 20,000-square-feet of climbing walls, the gym will add other amenities in stages, including weight training and cardio equipment, saunas and showers, and retail.
A Coffeed cafe will be added in the near future.
Also on the way is an Active Collaborative Workspace with free Wi-Fi for laptops, stand-up desks and conference tables where physicality stimulates innovation and creativity. The co-working spaces are expected to lure young entrepreneurs, especially those with tech startups.
“We’re aiming for the tech crowd because rock climbing is such a cerebral sport that involves solving problems,” Pinn said. He is also involved in brokering the Q41’s 99 apartments and 9 condos.
“You can imagine the amount of people that are interested in living here,” Pinn said. “The building is currently full but as units become vacant we’ll fill the units with our members. We ll have waiting lists for people to replace them. It just makes sense for us to broker units.”
BKB Queensbridge is unique in that it is the most accessible facility of its type in the city, according to Pinn. “We’ve got eight subways in 5 1/2 blocks, we’ll be getting visitors from all over,” he said.
The facility is Brooklyn Boulder’s fourth location, joining its original gym in Gowanus and others in Boston and Chicago.
“We’re at four but planning more opportunities,” Pinn said. “This is still just the beginning.”
Brooklyn Boulders Queensbridge is planning a grand opening for Thursday, Dec. 10, with shows, displays, acrobatics and live music. Prior to the grand opening a discounted annual membership rate of $95 is available, day passes cost $28.
Pinn looks forward to the day when all the elements come together.
“If you live in this particular building, you may not ever want to leave,” he said.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
