Harvard pulls back gym access for Allston-Brighton residents

The move sparked frustration, and a city councilor has renewed a push for a new community center with affordable fitness options.
When Allston and Brighton residents swiped their gym cards at Harvard in early September, they were stunned to find their access cut off — ending a decade-long, under-the-radar but increasingly popular perk that let them use the university’s athletic facilities for about $5 a month.
In response, residents took to social media, voicing their shock and dismay over the program ending. Residents say the perk allowed them access to a pool, gym, and track, all of which are limited in supply in the neighborhood.
Now, many are left in a lurch as they face more expensive and niche options elsewhere, with even the nearby YMCA in Oak Square costing around $60 per person.
Allston-Brighton City Councilor Liz Breadon says she heard from many residents who said it provided an affordable place to go, especially for those on a limited income.
“Folks are incredibly disappointed to see that go away,” she said.
In a letter to Ed Portal Recreation members, Harvard said the neighborhood now has several new fitness options — including a Planet Fitness that opened on Harvard Avenue earlier this year near Boston University — and the school no longer sees a need to provide that service.
The Ed Portal wants to return to its mission of creating programming that builds community, moving to activities such as yoga classes and walking and running groups.
The gym membership program, which Harvard ran through the Ed Portal, was established in the 2013 Institutional Master Plan submitted to Boston. The plan states that Harvard promised 100 passes; however, it ballooned to over 700 last year.
The high number of residents participating in the program strained the Harvard Ed Portal administrative staff and facilities.
“I think it started as being quite a modest commitment, and I think it’s been so popular that it’s mushroomed into a much bigger commitment to provide gym access to so many more people,” said Breadon.
Given Harvard’s pressure from the federal government, which has threatened billions of dollars in research funding, Breadon says, “they’ve had to tighten their belts a lot.”
In the most recent Institutional Master Plan, which Boston approved in the spring, the school committed $30 million to the Harvard Ed Portal to continue operations, programming, and partnerships.
The school also said that pool access will remain open during the summer months, and the track and field will remain open to the public when not in use by students.
Jake Dempsey, a Brighton resident who had used the perk for about four years before it ended, said the pool and gym access were easily accessible, affordable, and met his family’s needs.
A resident for close to 20 years, Dempsey has watched as Harvard has continued to encroach on the neighborhood, snatching up property and doing construction that leads to road closures and traffic.
The gym membership, Dempsey said, is the least they could do.
“This one thing, which did not seem like a very large investment … I feel it should be a part of it,” he said.
Breadon says the loss of gym access emphasizes the need for the neighborhood to have its own community center. There are conceptual plans to open one in the former Jackson Mann K-8 school.
“We’ve got one that’s barely functioning at the minute,” Breadon said. “It’s still open, but it doesn’t have full programming, and it’s not being funded for full programming, so that’s a challenge.”
Breadon continued, “I’m advocating strongly that we move ahead quickly and get going on building a new community center as soon as possible.”