February 10, 2007: Vol. 30, No. 6
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del.icio.usA popular Park Slope children’s gym has finally reopened after nearly a month of wrangling with the city, which shuttered the gym on Jan. 11 claiming that it was endangering its kiddie customers.
During the ensuing 23 days of closure, Powerplay gym sued the Fire Department, claiming a violation of the gym owner’s “civil rights” — and local karate kids suffered from unprecedented cabin fever during the recent cold snap.
But on Saturday morning, Powerplay was back in business — well, partially, anyway.
The top floor of the Third Avenue and Seventh Street center rang with the chatter of children jumping on trampolines, while the first floor sat idle, its balance beam, trampoline and gymnastics rings shrouded in dust.
The partial opening came almost a month to the day after what the Fire Department described as a routine inspection revealed a propane tank adjacent to the second-floor gym space and an unsanctioned day-care facility.
Gym owner Fritz Jean maintained that he was just temporarily housing the day-care center after its own quarters burned down, and that the propane tank was actually an empty kerosene tank for a barbecue.
Jean quickly removed the offending clutter and ejected the day-care center, but it took three weeks, and a lawsuit, to get the city to allow him to reopen.
“It was a bureaucratic tangle,” he said, adding that he lost $50,000 during the forced closure.
Meanwhile, area parents were thrilled to finally get their children out of the house.
“Keeping kids at home in the winter is not fun,” said Brit Henriksson, who was stuffing her daughter Samantha into her winter clothes after a morning at the gym.
Jean said the first floor of Powerplay won’t reopen until he finishes installing a proper storefront on the seven-year-old funhouse.
The Fire Department wouldn’t comment on the recent turn of events.
©2007 The Brooklyn Paper
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