Despite massive renovations done to the Secaucus facilities, members of the Health Concepts fitness center found the doors closed on July 4 when they went there. The doors have remained shut since then, with notes appearing on the doors of the company’s Secaucus and Fairview facilities.
No one has been able to locate the owner, Steve Winters – although someone answered his cellular telephone when the Reporter called for comment and immediately hung up after hearing that it was the Reporter. Other telephone numbers previously available to the press were no longer in service.
Hundreds of gym members throughout the area – some of whom just paid to renew or sign up for membership – are looking to get their money back.
One Secaucus resident, who did not wish to have her named used for this report, said she and her husband had just joined the facility in April for $400 each.
“We got there on Thursday; we found the place closed,” she said. “The door was still closed on Friday with a note on the door. We called the gym, but no one answered the telephone. In Fairview, someone posted a note on the door asking if anyone had seen Steve Winters. Apparently no one can locate him.”
Town Administrator Anthony Iacono said it was highly unusual for the gym to close even for holidays.
“That’s what made this so confusing,” he said. “This place was open on holidays, even on Christmas – although they usually reduced the hours. But when they closed for the Fourth of July, I thought there might be a death in the family or something.”
The gym has not opened since.
The town of Secaucus has already contacted the state Division of Consumer affairs and is giving the number out to its residents to register complaints.
“We’ve been in contact with the state and we’ve been told the state requires a bond in case something like this occurs,” said Mayor Dennis Elwell.
The Fairview and Secaucus facilities have posted $50,000 in an account to cover refunds and other problems. The state can take that and give refunds after they determine who should get them.
First Ward Councilman Mike Grecco said Town Hall is giving out the complaint number to anyone seeking a refund.
For Secaucus residents, the gym has a history of these kinds of problems. In 1993, the facility, under other ownership, also closed its doors, leaving many members without refund.
“My daughter lost money back then,” Elwell said.
Most of the memberships were honored when the new owners for what was then Supreme Fitness took over. Health Concepts bought out Supreme Fitness in Secaucus in 1999.
Elwell said the town would use whatever clout it had to get membership concerns addressed.
Iacono said the town has also contacted the state Attorney General’s office, and the matter will be investigated to determine if a crime has been committed.
The closing of the facility was largely a surprise to local membership, even though the company’s West Orange facility closed in a similar fashion earlier this year, the members of which are still seeking refunds.
Health Concepts ran into similar problems two years ago when the group sought to open a facility in Hoboken. The project was halted when Hoboken inspectors fined them $14,000 for allegedly doing work without permits. Numerous people there complained that they had paid membership, and to date, only about half those people got money back, according to a report from the Better Business Bureau.
The town of Secaucus received about 30 calls the first day from members wondering about the closing, and has been receiving complaints daily since.
Iacono, who also serves as the town’s director of consumer affairs, said he had just renewed his own membership before the holiday, and attended the gym about three times a week.
“They just did major renovations to the place, and redid the men’s and women’s locker rooms,” Iacono said. “They pumped money into the place.”
Other members, who spoke to the Reporter, confirmed the renovations, each seeing this as a good sign.
“I liked going there to the various classes,” one woman said. “I’m concerned because Health Concepts is very convenient. It is centrally located.”
She called it “a good little gym” that was well maintained.
“It was not like meat plants other gyms can be, where they crowd you in,” she said.
“It is very strange,” Iacono said. “They were putting money into renovations. Why would they put money into it and then just close the doors? I suspect there may have been a dispute between partners.”
Steve Winters is also a firefighter for North Hudson Regional Fire Department, a fact known to many members of the club.
“We’ve been told that members of the clubs are getting together to hold a protest outside the firehouse where he works,” Iacono said.
Winters could jeopardize his firefighting job if the state Attorney General files charges in this matter, Iacono said. If charged, Winters could be suspended from his post, and if convicted, he would be fired.
“The are reasons for concern,” Iacono said. “This gym took money from people right up until they day they closed the doors. If the Attorney General determines management knew they were closing and still took the money, that would be fraud.”
Members who wish to complain can file with the Better Business Bureau at (973) 581-1313 or the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Regulatory Business Bureau at (973) 504-6261.