A group of kickboxers in the Bronx are feeling robbed and cheated after their local kickboxing gym closed during the pandemic and continued charging them monthly membership fees.
ILoveKickboxing in Pelham Bay was once a place boxers say felt like home, and the friendships they formed felt like family.
“This was our happy place. This was where we got our workout. Some of us were here five days a week, six days a week,” says Sharon Lessington, of West Farms.
That was until things took a turn. The gym closed due to COVID-19 on March 16, but members say the monthly membership fees kept coming.
The gym did offer online classes while closed, but members tell News 12 they were offered at limited times usually mid-day and were often canceled.
As the charges continued, so did the questions. Questions members say were falling on deaf ears.
“When people started calling and sending emails saying, ‘when are you opening?’ They weren't responding,” says Jolisa Cedeno, of Pelham Bay.
Some took their frustration to social media, and then say they hit another roadblock.
“The owners and the management blocked me, and I was very, very hurt because I was a big part of this place,” says Cedeno.
Members say they don't want to give the gym a bad name. They just simply want back what they feel is rightfully owed to them.
An attorney representing the gym did get in contact with News 12 and said they would be speaking to the customers interviewed about the charges. They did not give with an official written statement. Customers say they still haven't seen a cent back, but are hoping it comes soon.