Parkour Gym Near Me in Park Slope: Brooklyn Ninja Academy on Fourth Avenue

Brooklyn Ninja Academy occupies the second floor of 340 4th Avenue, on the corner of 3rd Street in Park Slope, a short walk from the Union Street R stop. Adults and teens 13 and up pay $50 for a 90-minute obstacle class, kids 6 to 13 can test the sport at a $60 drop-in, and a new weekly Mini Ninjas class for 5-year-olds runs Mondays at 3:30pm. For Brooklyn families searching parkour gym near me, this is the borough's only dedicated ninja warrior training floor.

When Commercial Observer covered the lease in January 2022, the broker's selling point was the building itself: a three-story property on Fourth Avenue with no interior columns, high ceilings and big grey windows, previously home to an Ultimate Fighting Championship gym. The academy signed a 10-year lease on 6,860 square feet, with an opening planned for that winter. A column-free floor matters for this sport, since swing obstacles and long runways need clear space in every direction.

It was the second gym for owner Madelyn Scarpulla, a former record-label and radio marketing executive who had opened New York City Ninja Academy in Hell's Kitchen about a year earlier. The family has since grown to Los Angeles and Ventura. Brooklyn markets itself as the original and only dedicated ninja warrior obstacle facility in the borough, and its coaches include athletes who compete on American Ninja Warrior and in the World Ninja League.

Classes teach swinging, climbing, balance and the run-and-plant technique for the warped wall, with obstacles modeled on the television course and rearranged weekly so the layout never gets stale. For anyone arriving from parkour, the transferable skills are grip strength, wall runs and body control in the air, while the gap is ground flow: there is far less vaulting over rails and precision jumping here than at a pure parkour gym.

Adults have a second reason to visit. The Brooklyn location runs 90-minute aerial silks classes for ages 13 and up, pitched at ninjas who already have upper-body and core strength. It is an unusual pairing that suits climbers and gymnasts looking to cross-train. Advanced kids can move onto a competitive track that enters World Ninja League events, which the academy posts on a dedicated competitions tab.

Adult and teen obstacle classes are $50 each, but the packs are where regulars land: five classes come at 10 percent off and ten at 15 percent off, with credits valid for a full year. Kids who want to try before committing can book the one-hour Intro to Ninja drop-in for $60, offered on weekends and school holidays, and the 45-minute Mini Ninjas drop-in for ages 4 and 5 costs $50.

The core of the kids program is a 10-week semester of one-hour classes taught by certified ninja coaches. Fall 2026 runs September 8 to November 15, winter runs November 16 to February 7 with Thursday and Friday classes cut to nine weeks for Thanksgiving, and spring 2027 is split into February and April terms. The registration grid lists live prices and class sizes, and the academy warns that the popular after-school slots fill quickly.

Parties here are run like a class rather than a play date. Guests spend a full 90 minutes on the gym floor with the whole facility booked privately, learn six or seven obstacles, then run the full course with lights, sound effects and a buzzer at the top of the warped wall, while the rest of the group does supervised open training. Every guest must be at least 6, and parties run on Saturdays and Sundays only.

The price is $975 for up to 15 kids plus $40 for each extra child, to a maximum of 20, paid in full to reserve; fees become non-refundable two weeks out, and coach gratuity is not included. The academy deliberately skips pizza and cake time, provides bracelets and stickers for gift bags, and sends families to Two Boots on Fifth Avenue afterward, where mentioning the gym gets 10 percent off.

Nobody touches the mats without laced sneakers, and party guests face the same no-exceptions rule. Shoes with soft rubber soles and little tread are preferred, and the gym's footwear list ranges from New Balance Fresh Foam trainers to minimalist barefoot shoes. Leave gloves and jewelry at home and tie back long hair. Spectators watch from benches with an unobstructed view, and during parties only the birthday child's parents may step onto the floor.

Every athlete and party guest must complete the waiver before entering the gym floor, and drop-off is allowed for parties. The honest downside of all this structure is spontaneity: there is no walk-in open gym for adults, and classes need booking through the calendar. If you want to just show up and play, Brooklyn Zoo's evening open gym in East Williamsburg is the better fit once you have taken one of its classes.

The R train stops at Union Street, a few blocks north, and the F and G trains at 4th Avenue-9th Street are a similar walk south. The building sits on busy Fourth Avenue, so families with young kids usually walk up to Fifth Avenue, one block east, where the neighborhood's restaurants and shops line the street. Two Boots, the pizza place the gym partners with, is on that stretch.

For a longer day, keep walking uphill past Seventh Avenue to Prospect Park, where the Third Street entrance and its playground are a natural cool-down after a 90-minute session. Head west across Fourth Avenue instead and you are a few blocks from the Gowanus Canal, a quieter, more industrial walk for teenagers who would rather look at old warehouses than playgrounds.

Address: 340 4th Avenue, 2nd floor, Brooklyn, NY 11215, at 3rd Street. Adult and teen ninja classes (13+) $50 for 90 minutes, packs of five and ten at 10 and 15 percent off. Kids Intro to Ninja drop-in $60, Mini Ninjas drop-in $50, weekly Mini Ninjas Mondays 3:30pm. Birthday parties $975 for up to 15 kids. Laced sneakers and an online waiver required.