Quiet room on demand?

February 4, 2013 9:44 PM

In NYC: Want to get 10-30 people in a quiet room for a discussion (in a place that's not someone's apartment) for about 90 minutes. What's free (or quite cheap), and easy to obtain on short notice? This is a noncommercial thing, if that would help.
posted by shivohum to grab bag (9 answers total)

Libraries always have group study rooms and conference rooms. Any university, or the big publics.
posted by facetious at 9:50 PM on February 4

Thanks. Do universities allow outsiders to use their rooms without charge? Or what's the typical fee? And who would one contact to reserve rooms?
posted by shivohum at 9:52 PM on February 4

if they're slow a lot of libraries will allow outsiders. i've never heard of a charge for that, but maybe there's a price for outsiders only. if i were doing it, i'd just call circulation and ask to talk to someone in conference services, or someone who does the room reservations.
posted by facetious at 9:57 PM on February 4

A local church or temple might have a room you can use or rent.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:17 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

Try Judson Memorial Church. Bonus points if your meeting involves social activism or progressive charity work in any way.

If they're booked out or don't offer what you need, try St. Mark's Church and Washington Square Methodist, both of which offer similar community access and privilege creative and social justice oriented events.

I don't think any of the university libraries are going to be useful to you, as most do not allow access by non-students.

I know Baruch College rents out its performance spaces for outside groups, but that might just be for performances open to the general public (I've been to staged readings of plays and the like at Baruch, as a non-student).

Hunter, City College, and LaGuardia Community College might be worth enquiring with.

What about the Gay And Lesbian Community Center? They might be open to a non-LGBT oriented meeting, depending on what it is (again, you'll have better luck with social justice or community type meetings).
posted by Sara C. at 10:34 PM on February 4

A rehearsal space might not be a bad follow-up choice, if none of the usual churches, schools, and community centers offer what you need.

It's pretty cheap to rent rooms at Ripley-Greer or Simple Studios.

I also found this search engine for performance, rehearsal, and meeting spaces in New York. It's performing arts focused, but unless it's a meeting for the KILL ALL ARTISTS FOREVER Society, they're probably happy to take your money.
posted by Sara C. at 10:39 PM on February 4 [3 favorites]

Do any of the 10-30 people work at a college, school, or library? I've been at a lot of meetings that weren't sponsored by an institution but where a professor just reserved the room ahead of time. I do not think you will have a lot of luck with university libraries without some kind of connection. You could still check with a local public library or school to see what their available spaces are. And I would second a church/temple hall or multipurpose room.
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:16 AM on February 5

University libraries vary widely on whether they're open to the public. (I've been to universities where none are open, where some are open and where all are open, so...) However, I've been in university libraries where there's no room for 10-30 people to have a discussion--10 is proably the upper limit for most 'group study' rooms. In fact, I'm trying to think if I've ever seen such a room in a university library. There might be one in Berkeley, which does you no good.

No idea if it's a possibility in New York, but add parks to the list of places that might have a 'community meeting room' of some sort.
posted by hoyland at 6:14 AM on February 5

Check out The Actors Temple. They have several spaces available and, since the group you're hosting is non-commercial, you'll qualify for their reduced rates.
posted by yellowcandy at 12:04 PM on February 5