Queens Gyrotonic (Photo: QueensPost)
August 15, 2012 By Bill Parry
What do Shaquille O’Neal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Sting all have in common? They’re all true believers in gyrotonics, a workout that is said to provide stress relief, wellness and personal fitness.
In Queens, there is only one studio dedicated to this growing discipline and it’s in Sunnyside, located at 41-51 49th Street.
The business, called Queens Gyrotonic, is owned by Kandi Kitich, who established her new studio just 3 weeks ago. She had previously operated on 44th Street, across the street from the Sunnyside Post office, for about five years.
The move was motivated by a number of factors and not just a rent increase, she said.
“The rent is high everywhere you go in an area like this,” Kitich said. “The move was more about simplifying things. It suits me better because my business is right up the street from Cafe Marlene [41-11 49th St.] where I live upstairs.”
Kitich co-owns Café Marlene with her sister.
There are other benefits, she said. “I find that on this side of Queens Blvd. people are younger and are more aware of the Manhattan scene. They know about the holistic approach on this side [of the boulevard], and don’t need to be educated about it like the other side of the boulevard,” she added.
All of her clients have made the move with her.
Kitich’s most famous client was the Irish middleweight boxer John Duddy who’s now retired. “When he was selling out Madison Square Garden he was coming to my studio three times a week” Kitich said. She went on to explain that gyrotonics offers benefits to athletes, ballerinas, gymnasts and even opera singers.
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56 Comments
Having been a life long fitness enthusiast, resistance training, ice skating, bicycling, mountain biking, competitve Motocross racing as well as Iyengar Yoga and Gyrotonics, I can tell you that Gyrotonics is where I go to repair the damage that the other modalities leave you with. “Cross Fit” enthusiasts will find that there will be a time in their future, where they will spend more time in “Physical Theraphy”, than in persuit of their “Personal Bests”. Gyrotonics on the other hand is a “Healing Modality” that like Yoga, can be practiced for your entire life, the results being a more “Vibrant” more resilient you. “Cross Fit” like many “Fad” exercise systems, can greatly increase strength and cardiovascular health, but can lead to serious joint injuries especially if aggressive Trainers push new enthusiasts, to increase their level of conditioning at too fast a pace.
Dear Writer. Bill Parry. The celbs you mentioned WERE doing this back in the early2000’S Just like Jane Fonda WAS doing Her workout back in the 80’s Its old and the IN THING NOW is called Cross Fit.
May want to do some research before publishing your copy.
Tempus Fugit, thank you for speaking up on behalf of the pet store parakeets. We don’t even have room to perch! We can be wonderful pets if given the chance, but we don’t get a good start in life in overcrowded cages in pet stores.
The lime-green exterior paint job on the 44th street location looks horrible. I hope the landlord paints over it to a look that fits in more with the neighborhood.
Well her comments were insensitive, she runs a business that is not 100% focused on local clientele. Gyrotonics is a very specialized sort of fitness-training and is practiced by a number of atheletes and dancers, as the owner mentioned in her comments. It is also VERY expensive. If she wants to attract a more local clientele, then her move was the right one. Cafes, bistros, wine bars are mostly found on the north side of Queens Blvd. while the south side tends towards more mom and pop places and chain stores. These reflect the tastes of those living nearby. I am sure it was not the only reason she moved her business, but it makes sense to me as a business decision.
46th street between the arch and Greenpoint Avenue is a nice stretch of road – a good feng shui feel to it.
All it needs is a good bar, cafe and a power wash. The pet store also needs a deep clean and for goodness sake man, stop stuffing so many parakeets into one cage and give them some toys to play with before they go insane.
Henry – considering the arch is on th southside of the boulevard, maybe the northside should be the ones to consider a name change…
…Astoria South has a nice ring to it 🙂
The south side of Sunnyside should not even be called Sunnyside. Can’t we just refer to it as Woodside or something? Can Van Bramer help rename it?
We all know the North is nicer, yeah a few restaurants on South are pretty good for take out but that is about it.
This whole north vs. south thing is getting old. Lets move on to owners vs. renters already……!
I will say, I do enjoy Cafe Marlene though…
Manhattan is way passée, Brooklyn is the new Manhattan, but Queens is the new Brooklyn!!
How to judge the ‘goodness’ of a neighborhood? I’d go with:
the parks, the libraries, the food, how friendly people are, the ‘look’ of the place (trees? litter? empty stores?), the rents, safety, diversity of the residents and convenience to public transportation. Sunnyside has it all, from top to bottom. Each side of QB has more or less of all these things – where you feel most at home depends as much on you, as on the neighborhood.
Can’t we all just get along
I get my Gyros from the Turkish place on 47th & Queens Blvd. My tonic? I like it with Gin, lime, and ice. Plenty of places throughout the neighborhood.
Seriously though, had anyone ever seen this place open? I’m down that way all the time because of the post office, grocery store, and library, and that store front was always closed. I don’t even think there was any signage with hours.
I live on the north side of QB but appreciate some of what the south side has to offer. Admittedly I haven’t been to many of the eating establishments as I frequent places like Quaint a lot. However, the south side does have our library, the Thalia theater and Mamas Empanadas. Not to mention great eye brow threading places and two good thrift stores. I really like Cafe Marlene’s and although her comments were stupid, she and her sister are not monsters and have been nothing but nice whenever I go in there.
Kandi is klueless!
GREAT way to reintroduce your fledging business-insult half the neighborhood! Klearly Kandi didn’t venture too far outside her south side location, or she would have seen the “younger” neighbors that are taking over the ENTIRE neighborhood on BOTH sides of the boulevard. This place NEVER had any customers and it was 1/4 of the way down off Queens Boulevard. Location wasn’t the problem-it’s the koncept (and pronbably Kandi, if this interview offers any insight into her personality and philosophy regarding her customers and neighbors).
Too bad for her-if I want ‘tude, I’ll take the 7 train into Manhattan, thank you very much.
I hope she’s on a month to month lease on the north side! She will need it after her thoughtless and obnoxious comments. She just isolated MANY people on this blog that probably would have supported her new location and perhaps turned into regular patrons of both her studio and Cafe Marlene.
Not anymore!
I just moved to Sunnyside and this whole debate seems really silly to me. It just shows that, no matter what, people will find a way to categorize each other and fight over their perceived differences instead of appreciating the richness of our diversity. To anyone who lives outside of New York, we are all just New Yorkers. To anyone in Manhattan, we are all just residents of Queens. But here, it’s north side of the boulevard vs. south???!!! Clearly, the business owner’s (admittedly ill-considered) comment touched a nerve! If I hadn’t heard it from other people, I would not have thought much about the boulevard as dividing line…
What the hell is everyone on this whole north side south side crap? Seriously? As someone else put it, people could of crossed the blvd if they wanted to go to her yoga place. All of this north side south side shit must be new comers to the neighborhood. I go back and forth to wherever I need when I need without regard of which side of the blvd I’m on. get over it people. and this lady can take her overpriced yoga to manhattan then if she’s looking for sophisticated clientele. Oh and I live on the block of her old location and I am very much into health and fitness but this just wasn’t my cup of tea, so suck it.
I’ve lived in Sunnyside my whole life and we have NEVER distinguished between the “North side” and the “South side.” Just ridiculous!! Our rent is going through the roof due to the onslaught of “hipsters” and you’re all ‘rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic!’ Who gives a damn what the Gyrotonic lady thinks!! I never saw it open! That trend was hot for about 5 minutes, 10 years ago!!!
Admit it Kandi Kitich. YOU chose the wrong side of Queens Blvd to open your business on five years ago. It was THAT decision on YOUR part that accounts for your situation and need to move. Stop blaming your lack of success on some perceived lack of sophistication and education of the local people. Sorry we’re not Manhattany enough for you. Good luck at your new location. It’s a sound business decision to relocate there. You might want to come off your pedestal and stop insulting people though.
We on the Northside are just Better!!!!! deal with it you Southside TRASH. This would never happen in Britain we know how to deal with the RIFF RAFF.
Wow…. hey regardless of who’s better, North or South, I’ll defend the South if Kew Gardens or Manhattan starting talking smack about the South Sunny. Only I can talk smack about the dirty South Sunny.
Ugh, what vapid statements, from both Ms. Kitich and folks defending her statements as in any way informed. This is just racism pure and simple. I’m probably the exact type of customer she had in mind. And I – and many others just like me – live *gasp* on the South side. Her comments have made certain that I’ll never give her any of my hard earned dollars.
Plus, I thought the old location had been closed for years. Never open. Haven’t seen anyone go in an out for years now.
Oh My what a disaster !…..I am more than Concerned …I am Marty Concerned
Krissi said “I promise we won’t mug you”
Speak for yourself.
Oppressed Masses
“The only time I cross to the south side is to go to the Post Office and to Sidetracks on Friday night.”
You’d think a New Yorker would take advantage of all the amenities around him…. Because I believe truly you are missing some great neighborhood spots! De Mole, The Haab, me new fave spot Off the Boulevard, Pio Pio, Marabella, all of the different central American restaurants (there’s plenty to choose from!), Bliss Street Station, and plenty more!
As a resident southsider, I invite you to take a look at some of the great amenities on our side of the street. I promise we won’t mug you 🙂
I understand her point… the north side is more affluent, but honestly, is it that hard for her clients to just CROSS THE STREET?
I go out to dinner all the time on Skillman and meet northsiders, and when I mention my southside address I always get snooty remarks. Northsiders need to realize that Sunnyside doesn’t end at Queens Blvd, and this Southside yuppie believes that both sides of the neighborhood need community support to do well.
I don’t live north of the blvd but I’ll be the first to admit that Sunnyside Gardens and Skillman Ave around 46st is an exceptionally attractive area. People there are fortunate to live there and have a right to be proud of it.
But the south side is a perfectly decent neighborhood as well, there is no need to disparage it or put down its residents.
The north side has leafier streets, quaint houses and trendier shops and pubs and old-fashioned lamp posts but it seems it also has more than its share of posh, snobby wankers and Park Slope wannabes with no class.
The North isn’t more sophisticated in any way. You idiots pay more for teeny spaces in a poorly planned garden community. Also, all those quaint little businesses along Skillman, suck! The best places to eat are all on the south side. Salt and Fat, Marabella’s, De Mole…need I continue? The north is devoid of any substance or character. You guys think you’re better, but all you have to show for it is a terrible private park.
“….more aware of the Manhattan scene” ????
Move to Manhattan then.
What’s with all the venomous references to ‘hipsters’? What does that even mean? White people under 40 who aren’t from Ireland or who don’t wear suits to work?
Correction on last comment. “North” and “South” should be exchanged.
Let’s not mince words: the south side has more white people with money (yuppies, hipsters, whatever you want to call them) who go for trendy things like this.
The north side has more immigrants who are too busy and/or don’t give a hoot what status-conscious white people are into.
The mistake made here by Kandi was assuming that these cultural differences somehow indicate an education deficiency on the part of those those who choose not to avail themselves of her services.
To All,
North side is overall better than the South side. Truth hurts bitchezzzz. The South can maintain this stigma or get better. Same with the North; maintain or get even better.
Love,
Craic Dealer
people have been elected to the Presidency with greater faux pas.
I moved to the Sunnyside/Woodside area in April and as an outsider with no previous bias, I have definitely found the North side of Queens blvd. much more appealing, cultured, sophisticated. Probably because the businesses and housing cater to a demographic with a higher income, who are YES on the whole (this will make the Southsider’s mad) probably more educated and who can afford to live closer to the train.
I live right by Queens Blvd and was disappointed to see such a drastic change in the tone of the neighborhood when you cross over to the South.
It is a shame, there are some decent houses to the South. I would be willing to save a few bucks and have a longer walk to the train if that area had more to offer.
The small business owner in the article foolishly articulated to the media what she knows is true, her clientele is more likely to be on the North. Exercise classes cost $$$. Southsiders should just shrug it off and be secure in who they are (or are not) and enjoy the cheaper housing.
Queens Blvd itself is one of the most butt ugly streets I have ever seen, but it could have so much potential. What a monstrous urban planning fail. There are some interesting businesses there I would like to see succeed. Kudos to any that try to beautify their area of the sidewalk.
The blvd. slashes the area like a horrible exhaust filled knife wound. Surrounding it with as many trees, to shade it and filter the air, as we can squeeze in would do more for its businesses than you can imagine.
If you havent already try getting more plantd free from Milliontrees.org
She is just the kind of person who is slowly ruining the area with hipster nonsense
Give her a break for saying something a little silly.
She has invested in two businesses in Sunnyside and should be commended for it. We should be praising her as opposed to picking on her for her comment.
@Barbara: So then Kitich’s comment’s should be a compliment to you. I don’t know why you’re complaining. Cafe Marlene is pretty good.
I’ve passed the 44th Street location umpteen times on visits to the U.S. Post Office across the way, but never saw a single person entering or leaving the premises.
Oops. Perhaps Ms. Kitich will learn from all of this, one hopes.
Goddamn. Give the woman a break.
She made two general statements about people from the south side of the Blvd vis a vis the north:
1. they tend to be older;
2. they tend to not be as aware of the “Manhattan scene” (whatever that is) regarding holistic health trends
Now, I’m neither endorsing or refuting those statements. I just think they’re fair observations made by a business owner in the neighborhood. Only a fragile ego can get so offended.
And no, she didn’t say that everyone on the north side is smarter or more educated as a whole. Again, she said that they are more educated about the purported holistic health trends that are popular in Manhattan.
And to those above, stop using the word “hipster.”
Only those who have a Manhattan inferiority complex should take offense. Because I view it as just another borough (nor “the city,” as many love to call it), I don’t see a reference to it as an automatic complement.
And anyone who doesn’t think there are some clear demographic differences between the two sides is delusional.
Thanks for the article Sunnyside Post!! I will not support businesses owned, or co-owned, by Ms. Kitich anymore. Her comments are disgusting.
I call BS. It was rent I bet. She’s closer to her other business and is more convenient. 49th street on THAT side of the Blvd is caca. Good luck trying to get your modern clientele with a younger crowd than 44th St. Can you say downgrade?
Somethings are better left unsaid then said.. she knows her market and its harder to explain your services on the south side of the blvd but you need to be poite and deal with it… put continue to educate your town on what you are doing regarless of who they are and where they live.. I have been in sales/ markting for over 30 years so I know silence is goldent and keep teacing and training the pubilc… it never ends to grow and developoe your business…
The fact is – Kitich is probably right about having more potential customers on the north side but there are probably still a few on the other side. Why piss them off? Not too bright. If anyone needs educating it’s her – about manners and courtesy.
That comment was totally out of line. I grew up in the neighborhood, many years ago, and it didn’t matter what side of the November you came from. Talk about having no class.
Anyone who isn’t willing to pay this woman for her services is obviously stupid. What other possible reason could there be? That seems to be the gist of her statement.
Scratch a snob and just below the surface you’ll often find an insecure, status-craving narcissist.
I live on the north side of Queens Blvd and I agree with Ms. Kitich that people over here are better in every way than the folks on the other side. The only time I cross to the south side is to go to the Post Office and to Sidetracks on Friday night.
Yes, unbelievably stupid comment from this woman!! I, too, was thinking about trying it out, but to heck with her now!! Lost quite a few potential customers I think.
This woman may know a lot about some fashionable workout routine but she knows squat about public relations. She could have easily just said she’s happy in her new location and looks forward to serving the community etc. etc.
But no, she takes a gratuitous swipe at half the neighborhood. There may well be a demographic more suited to her business on the north side but why risk insulting such a large swath of the local population as intellectual inferiors? It just makes you look like an arrogant twit.
She’s not too smart herself if you ask me. Here is someone in the fitness business who publicly admits she’s glad that she doesn’t have to walk the extra couple of blocks to the other side of the boulevard to work. Is she that out of shape or lazy that it’s an issue? Not really what you want to hear from an exercise guru, is it? But what do I know, I’m just one of those knuckle-draggers from the wrong side of the tracks.
She should be flogged for her loose tongue
“…and don’t need to be educated about it like the other side of the boulevard,” she added.”
What a snob.
Is that 7 Train viaduct going to be the new Berlin Wall separating the affluent, sophisticated, white yuppies of Skillman Ave from the unwashed, blue collar riff-raff of Greenpoint Ave?
I’m kinda shocked at her statement on the “other side of the blv” I have lived in the other side for years and know many people from both sides and
Both are well educated. Yes not all are made for what she has to offer but I am a runner, a yogi and I am well educated.
@Susan, I agree. I live on the North side of the Boulevard as well and I spend more money pursuing the ‘holistic’ approach to life than I care to admit. So I did not appreciate that dismissive and very condescending comment. Complete generalization. I’m very much about supporting local businesses in my neighborhood as much as I can, on both sides of Queens Blvd. Its a pity that owners of local businesses like this feel that its OK to make such sweeping statements and dismiss those of us who would otherwise be glad to give them business as ‘uneducated’ and not worth catering to.
That kind of snooty attitude has put me off even trying Cafe Marlene which I’ve been meaning to visit for a while.
I was interested & was thinking of trying it until I read the rest of her statement about the people on the north side of the blvd vs. people living on the south side…old vs. young…what a generalization of people & an obnoxious attitude! She must mean the hipsters are the people she wants –well she can have them – btw I live on the north side!
This is an excellent alternative to those who hate traditional gyms!
I highly recommend Queens Gyrotonic!