Breakthrough FitCo co-owners Jake Allyne and Steve Goodman are opening the facility at 88 N. Main St. in New City, after seeing explosive growth at the company’s first location in Hartsdale, Westchester, which launched four years ago. The grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, and will feature a DJ, food, workouts and community events open to the public.
Allyne said his journey into adaptive fitness began after years working in commercial health and wellness facilities, including on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and later with a large fitness corporation in Westchester. While working in the industry, he inherited an adaptive fitness program and quickly realized the impact it could have on families often overlooked by traditional gyms.
“The biggest secret to working with this demographic is to normalize different life experiences,” Allyne said. “Presence is the secret sauce to connecting with people.”
When the pandemic shut gyms down, Allyne moved workouts onto Zoom and eventually transformed his garage into a training space so clients, including special needs families, could continue exercising safely. What started as a small operation quickly turned into something much larger.
“The success was wild,” Allyne said. “When we opened, we realized there was a massive need and want for inclusion in fitness for this demographic.”
The first gym grew rapidly, eventually expanding to 16 trainers, partnerships with day programs, and a waiting list of clients. Allyne said requests from Rockland families kept pouring in, leading him back to his hometown to open a second location.
“Westchester has some stuff going on for that demographic but Rockland needs a resurgence of energy in this space,” he said.
The gym combines traditional strength equipment, including squat racks, barbells, dumbbells up to 110 pounds and cardio machines, with adaptive tools for wheelchair users, clients with cerebral palsy, and people with grip limitations. Allyne said the goal is not to water workouts down, but to meet people where they are while maintaining high expectations.
“We don’t dumb down to a mold that the world thinks of when they think of different abilities,” Allyne said. “Meeting the person as a human and accepting we all have different life experiences makes the space inviting.”
Allyne said some of the most meaningful success stories have come from clients who gained confidence, improved their health and found a sense of belonging through movement and structure.
“We get to see miracles happen every day,” he said. “I think health and wellness is the first line of defense in the healthcare system for anybody.”
One client who trained virtually during the pandemic lost 40 pounds and came off medication, Allyne said.
“That’s what movement does for us,” he said. “There are limited opportunities for the neurodiverse population — that gives them an unfair shot.”
Among the trainers joining the New City location is retired Paramus police officer Glenn Pagano, who retired in September 2025 and had been studying to become a NASM-certified personal trainer when he connected with Allyne through a friend from his Norwood gym.
“I wasn’t really looking for anything,” Pagano said. “The more I saw and the more I was exposed to [Breakthrough FitCo], the more I was impressed.”
Pagano said the atmosphere and accountability immediately stood out.
“It’s not like, oh because you have a disability, we’re going to lessen the amount of reps or lower this,” he said. “No, there’s a level of expectation and we’re going to meet it and do it together. We’re going to meet and exceed expectations. We’re just going to keep on going and driving to new heights.
“You don’t realize the demand of this and how many people it benefits. Once you get the body moving, the brain works better.”
The June 6 opening celebration is meant to showcase the gym’s energy and mission to the broader community.
“We’re here to serve and normalize people with different life experiences and we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it,” Allyne said.
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