Frenchie's Gym

Frenchie’s Gym was a Williamsburg classic since April 1, 1976. A real gym, for real people. $5 to train one day or membership for 30 days for $30.

There was no contract. Frenchie calls the gym members his disciples. As in, “My place is here with my disciples.” Some guys have been coming to Frenchie’s for decades, like Mo, who joined 27 years ago when he was trying to quit drinking, and now drives 45 minutes from Queens every day just to use the place. The walls are dotted with framed pictures of the disciples who’ve thrived here: they’re fle

xing in bodybuilding competitions, puffing up proudly next to a pool or at the beach. In the 70s and 80s, when Williamsburg, like much of New York City, was overrun by drugs and left for dead, Frenchie’s was a rare bastion of positivity in the neighborhood, a place for self-improvement. Now, with rents soaring and gentrification squeezing in on all sides, it’s a proud symbol of the past. Something worth preserving. The gym occupies the top two floors of a commercial building on the corner of Rodney and Broadway. On the first floor is a discount clothes store called Telco that used to be a Woolworth’s. The second floor was once a dentist’s office; now it’s where Frenchie keeps the ab equipment and the heavy bag. The old exam rooms were converted to locker rooms. Upstairs is the main floor, with the wood paneling, the pressed tin, etc. This is more like a loft, and it is here, from behind his desk, that Frenchie holds court and occasionally catnaps. If you use the gym for a few months, as I have, you realize there is a certain perfection to it. Every inch of usable floor space is occupied by a piece of equipment, leaving just enough room for everything to move freely—it’s an elaborate, room-size jigsaw puzzle. And everything works. If the upholstery on a bench comes apart, it’s patched with material from a conveyor belt. When a treadmill breaks down, Frenchie tinkers with the motor on his desk while the guys gather around him, talking in Spanish, pointing at this thing or that thing. A few days later, the treadmill is working again. On Friday nights Frenchie and a few guys play poker at his desk. In December there’s a Christmas party. The equipment on the third floor is pushed to the walls, and a table is set up in the middle of the room, filled with two big trays of pulled meat cooked by Frenchie’s wife, one tray of chicken, another of pork, the two helpfully differentiated by the roasted pig’s head in the pork tray.

03/19/2023

My dad the actor on set of 2011 Light’s Out series on FX.

02/23/2023

I treated myself to three new Pandora charms and a spacer! The daughter-mother charms honor my mom. The hearts overlap to fill open space. I was so excited to find a charm to honor my dad! It’s a dumbbell in a heart! 💕

01/01/2023

Happy New Year! May 2023 bring you peace, joy, health, love and just enough trials to build your faith! Blessings to all!

12/16/2022

Wishing my mom and dad a happy heavenly anniversary! They are celebrating 61 years in heaven. I love and miss them both!

12/04/2022

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the love and support to all those who have reached out to me to pay their respects to my mom. I will do my best to personally reach out to each of you. Willie and I are back home in Virginia. Now I need to rest up and take care of this terrible cold and cough! Smooches and blessings to all! 💕

12/02/2022

Hello family and friends. Thank you so much to those that came out to see my mom today. It meant the world to me. Tomorrow we will say our final goodbye as she is laid to rest with her husband and son. Below is information.

We will be leaving funeral home at 12:30 pm. If you would like to join procession please be at funeral home at 11:00 am

Friday, December 2, 2022
The Evergreens Cemetery
1629 Bushwick Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11207
718-455-5300

12/01/2022

Hello family and friends. Thank you so much for the love and support. Today is the viewing for my mom. Please wear masks.

Thursday, December 1, 2022
5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Benita Ramos
Ortiz Funeral Home
201 Havemeyer St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-782-6633
929-288-3196

Flowers can be ordered from:
World of Flowers
971 Manhattan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
718-349-8631

Love to all!

11/28/2022

Hello family and friends. Thank you so much for the love and support as I navigate my mother’s passing. Below is funeral information:

Viewing will be Thursday, December 1, 2022
5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at:
Benita Ramos
Ortiz Funeral Home
201 Havemeyer St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-782-6633
929-288-3196

Burial will be Friday, December 2, 2022
The Evergreens Cemetery
1629 Bushwick Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11207
718-455-5300

We will be leaving funeral home at 12:30 pm. If you would like to join procession please be at funeral home at 11:00 am

Flowers can be ordered from:
World of Flowers
971 Manhattan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
718-349-8631

Sympathy cards can be mailed to:
417 Morrison Ave
Newport News, VA 23601

Love and smooches to all! 💕

11/25/2022

Papa Frenchie has reunited with his beautiful wife. My mom passed away in her sleep early this morning. Funeral details are pending. Thank you for loving them both!

11/10/2022

Love my dad! Miss him! 💕

11/07/2022

A love letter from those who have passed on…

Take the love you have for me
And radiate it outwards
Allowing it to touch and impact others

Take the memory you have of me
And use it as a source of inspiration
To live fully, meaningfully and intentionally

Take the image you have of me in your mind
And allow it to fuel you
To take action
Seize the day
And be reminded of what is most important in life

Take the care you have for me
And let it remind you
To care for yourself fully
And shower yourself with your own love

And take the pain and grief you feel
Following my loss
And alchemize it into
Love, compassion and beauty

Build a castle
From the wreckage of my passing

And allow it to unlock your greatness and potential
And empower you to become more than you ever thought you were capable of being

And know that I can never truly leave you
And will always remain beside you
Watching over you in spirit
And that the love I have for you lives on
Through the connections you form
The kindness and compassion you share
And the future relationships and friendships you cultivate.

And until we are one day reunited
I will remain with you
Through the storms and chaos of life
And am always beside you
Walking with you, laughing with you, crying with you and smiling with you

And I am proud of you for being strong
I am proud of you for being brave
And I am proud of you for being you.

Words by Tahlia Hunter

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Location

Brooklyn

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Telephone

(718) 384-9461

Website

http://www.yelp.com/biz/frenchies-gymnasium-brooklyn

Address

303 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY
11211