Last Updated: October 1st, 2003

Empire Fitness Clubs.com strives to offer its visitors the many advantages of Internet technology and to provide an interactive and personalized experience. We may use Personally Identifiable Information (your name, e-mail address, street address, telephone number) subject to the terms of this privacy policy. We hate spam as much as you do and we will never sell, barter, or rent your email address to any unauthorized third party. Period. How we gather information from users.

How we collect and store information depends on the page you are visiting, the activities in which you elect to participate and the services provided. For example, you may be asked to provide information when you register for access to certain portions of our site or request certain features, such as newsletters, free trials or when you make a purchase. Like most Web sites, Empire Fitness Clubs.com also collects information automatically and through the use of electronic tools that may be transparent to our visitors. For example, we may log the name of your Internet Service Provider or use cookie technology to recognize you and hold information from your visit. Among other things, the cookie may store your user name and password, sparing you from having to re-enter that information each time you visit, or may control the number of times you encounter a particular advertisement while visiting our site. As we adopt additional technology, we may also gather information through other means. In certain cases, you can choose not to provide us with information, for example by setting your browser to refuse to accept cookies, but if you do you may be unable to access certain portions of the site or may be asked to re-enter your user name and password, and we may not be able to customize the site's features according to your preferences.

What we do with the information we collect Like other Web publishers, we collect information to enhance your visit and deliver more individualized content and advertising. We respect your privacy and do not share your information with anyone. Aggregated Information (information that does not personally identify you) may be used in many ways. For example, we may combine information about your usage patterns with similar information obtained from other users to help enhance our site and services (e.g., to learn which pages are visited most or what features are most attractive). Aggregated Information may occasionally be shared with our advertisers and business partners. Again, this information does not include any Personally Identifiable Information about you or allow anyone to identify you individually. We may use Personally Identifiable Information collected on Empire Fitness Clubs.com to communicate with you about your registration and customization preferences; our Terms of Service and privacy policy; services and products offered by Empire Fitness Clubs.com and other topics we think you might find of interest.

Personally Identifiable Information collected by Empire Fitness Clubs.com may also be used for other purposes, including but not limited to site administration, troubleshooting, processing of e-commerce transactions, administration of sweepstakes and contests, and other communications with you. Certain third parties who provide technical support for the operation of our site (our Web hosting service for example) may access such information. We will use your information only as permitted by law. In addition, from time to time as we continue to develop our business, we may sell, buy, merge or partner with other companies or businesses. In such transactions, user information may be among the transferred assets. We may also disclose your information in response to a court order, at other times when we believe we are reasonably required to do so by law, in connection with the collection of amounts you may owe to us, and/or to law enforcement authorities whenever we deem it appropriate or necessary. Please note we may not provide you with notice prior to disclosure in such cases.

Affiliated sites, linked sites and advertisements Empire Fitness Clubs.com expects is partners, advertisers and affiliates to respect the privacy of our users. Be aware, however, that third parties, including our partners, advertisers, affiliates and other content providers accessible through our site, may have their own privacy and data collection policies and practices. For example, during your visit to our site you may link to, or view as part of a frame on a Empire Fitness Clubs.com page, certain content that is actually created or hosted by a third party. Also, through Empire Fitness Clubs.com you may be introduced to, or be able to access, information, Web sites, features, contests or sweepstakes offered by other parties. Empire Fitness Clubs.com is not responsible for the actions or policies of such third parties. You should check the applicable privacy policies of those third parties when providing information on a feature or page operated by a third party.

While on our site, our advertisers, promotional partners or other third parties may use cookies or other technology to attempt to identify some of your preferences or retrieve information about you. For example, some of our advertising is served by third parties and may include cookies that enable the advertiser to determine whether you have seen a particular advertisement before. Other features available on our site may offer services operated by third parties and may use cookies or other technology to gather information. Empire Fitness Clubs.com does not control the use of this technology by third parties or the resulting information, and is not responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties.

You should also be aware that if you voluntarily disclose Personally Identifiable Information on message boards or in chat areas, that information can be viewed publicly and can be collected and used by third parties without our knowledge and may result in unsolicited messages from other individuals or third parties. Such activities are beyond the control of Empire Fitness Clubs.com and this policy.

Children's Privacy

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If we learn that we have personal information on a child under the age of 13, we will delete that information from our systems. Empire Fitness Clubs.com encourages parents to go online with their kids. Here are a few tips to help make a child's online experience safer: Teach kids never to give personal information, unless supervised by a parent or responsible adult. Includes name, address, phone, school, etc. Know the sites your kids are visiting and which sites are appropriate. Look for Web site privacy policies. Know how your child's information is treated. Check out the FTC's site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/index.html for more tips on protecting children's privacy online.

Changes to this Policy

Empire Fitness Clubs.com reserves the right to change this policy at any time. Please check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of our site following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes. Information collected prior to the time any change is posted will be used according to the rules and laws that applied at the time the information was collected.

Governing law

This policy and the use of this Site are governed by New Jersey and New York State laws. If a dispute arises under this Policy we agree to first try to resolve it with the help of a mutually agreed-upon mediator in the following locations: Hudson County, New Jersey, or Brooklyn, New York. Any costs and fees other than attorney fees associated with the mediation will be shared equally by each of us.

If it proves impossible to arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution through mediation, we agree to submit the dispute to binding arbitration at the following locations: Hudson County, New Jersey, or Brooklyn, New York, under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitration may be entered in any court with jurisdiction to do so. Empire Fitness Clubs.com is controlled, operated and administered entirely within New Jersey and New York. This statement and the policies outlined herein are not intended to and do not create any contractual or other legal rights in or on behalf of any party.

Contacting Us

We can be reached by contacting:

Empire Fitness Club
Corporate Office
2825 Nostrand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11229
(718) 677-9458 (phone)

Terms and Conditions of Use

1. We agree to provide you access to Our Site in accordance with the Terms of Use.
   
2. You agree to use Our Site in a manner consistent with any and all applicable rules and regulations.
   
3. You accept that Our Site is provided on an "as is, as available" basis.
   
4. ALL ARTICLES AND MATERIAL DISPLAYED BY US ON OUR SITE ARE FOR INFORMATION ONLY AND ARE NO SUBSTITUTE FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE.
   
5. YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF OUR SITE MAY BE TERMINATED AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON BY YOU OR BY US BY THE SENDING OF NOTICE TO THE OTHER PARTY.
   
6. WE MAY FOR MARKETING PURPOSES COLLECT, PROCESS AND TRANSMIT DATA OBTAINED FROM AND ABOUT YOU IN THE COURSE OF YOUR ACCESSING OUR SITE.
   
7. You are authorized to download one copy of the material on our Site on one computer for your personal, non-commercial use only but you may not in so doing remove or amend any trademark, copyright or other proprietary notice.
   
8. Subject to the above, you may not modify, copy, distribute, republish or upload any of the material on our Site without our prior consent in writing. No intellectual property or other rights shall be transferred to you.
   
9. To the extent that portions of our Site (such as "chat rooms" or "bulletin boards") provide users an opportunity to post and exchange information, ideas and opinions ("Postings"), BE ADVISED THAT WE DO NOT SCREEN, EDIT, OR REVIEW POSTINGS PRIOR TO THEIR APPEARANCE ON THIS WEB SITE, and Postings do not necessarily reflect our views. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws, we exclude all responsibility and liability for the Postings or for any losses or expenses resulting from their use and/or appearance on our Site.
   
10. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS, WE ON BEHALF OF OUR EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, AND CONTRACTORS EXCLUDE LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSSES AND EXPENSES OF WHATEVER NATURE AND HOWSOEVER ARISING, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS CAUSED BY A VIRUS, LOSS OF INCOME OR PROFIT, LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES, OR OTHER LOSSES OF ANY KIND OR CHARACTER, EVEN IF WE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THIS OUR SITE OR ANY WEB SITE WITH WHICH IT IS LINKED. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESTABLISHING SUCH PROCEDURES FOR DATA BACK UP AND VIRUS CHECKING AS YOU CONSIDER NECESSARY.
    
11. We reserve the right to monitor all materials posted on this bulletin board ("Postings") and to remove any which we consider in our absolute discretion to be offensive or otherwise in breach of these Terms of Use.
    
12. You hereby represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights in and to all Postings you provide and all material they contain and that such Postings shall not infringe any proprietary or other rights of third parties.
    
13. Where we provide hypertext links to other sites we do so for information purposes only, and such links are not endorsements by us of any products or services in such sites and we accept no liability nor make any endorsement or approval of the same.
    
14. The Terms of Use contain the entire understanding between us with respect of Our Site and no representation, statement, inducement oral or written, not contained herein shall bind either of us.
    
15. Should any part of the Terms of Use be declared invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, this shall not affect the validity of any remaining portion and such remaining portion shall remain in full force and effect as if the invalid portion of the Terms of Use had been eliminated.
    
16. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, without regard to principles of conflict of laws.

To the extent you have in any manner violated or threatened to violate Empire Fitness Clubs.Com and/or its affiliates' intellectual property rights, Empire Fitness Clubs.Com and/or its affiliates may seek injunctive or other appropriate relief in any state or federal court in the States of New Jersey or New York, and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in such courts.

Any other disputes will be resolved as follows:

If a dispute arises under this agreement, we agree to first try to resolve it with the help of a mutually agreed-upon mediator in the following locations: Hudson County, New Jersey or Brooklyn New York. Any costs and fees other than attorney fees associated with the mediation will be shared equally by each of us.

If it proves impossible to arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution through mediation, we agree to submit the dispute to binding arbitration at the following locations: Hudson County, New Jersey or Brooklyn, New York, under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitration may be entered in any court with jurisdiction to do so.