where in manhattan can I surf wifi and not annoy my neighbors?

July 23, 2012 6:21 AM

I'm going to be in Manhattan this week, and need the power of the hivemind. I'm staying with friends for the weekend, so I don't have (or need) hotel reservations for Friday. This creates the problem, however, of where to work remotely while I'm there. I understand that the NYPL is great for working... as long as you're quiet. But if I needed to voip conference with the rest of my team without annoying people around me (and being able to hear them in turn), without the benefit of a hotel room... where should I go? Preference for being easy accessible from NYPL branches, which is where I'm planning on spending most of my time. I saw the link to open wifi NYC in a previous post, but that only solves part of the problem.
posted by canine epigram to Work & Money (8 answers total)

Are you able and willing to pay for this? If so, there are a number of Coworking sites around New York.
"The 5 Coolest..."
Likely pretty complete list
posted by knile at 6:36 AM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

I used the NYPL librarian chat widget on their site and was told that the Science, Industry, and Business branch (34th and Madison) offers private rooms you can request to reserve. The librarian also suggested you try Bryant Park (if it's a nice day and not during lunch rush).
posted by Wretch729 at 6:38 AM on July 23, 2012

All 4 of the Courtyard Marriotts in Manhattan offer free wifi in their lobbies + some relative privacy to do exactly what you need.

UES : 92nd St
Midtown : E 40th
Eastside : 3rd Ave
Times square : 40th st
posted by Kruger5 at 6:57 AM on July 23, 2012

To go along with Kruger5, the Marriott Marquis in Times Square has free wifi, and the lobby is usually pleasantly empty. Quiet enough that I've done a recorded interview there. It helps it's on the 7th floor, so there's not a lot of traffic from people wandering in off the street.

The elevators are weird. Don't be afraid to ask for help with them.
posted by Andrhia at 7:00 AM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

Loose Cubes is what you want.
posted by dfriedman at 7:07 AM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

I worked remotely from the NYPL Main Branch a couple months ago. I had to make one conference call during my 5 hours there (I actually moved to another one in East Village for last couple hours of the day).

If you have a blue tooth headset or iphone-type headphones, making calls in the lobby areas isn't so bad. The slight annoyance is completely worth it with the beauty of the main reading room.
posted by sandmanwv at 12:17 PM on July 23, 2012

I've worked in Bryant Park a few times. Free wi-fi, nice weather, I rec it.

Hundreds, probably thousands, of NYers work from coffee shops every day. Also dumb question, but could you hang at your hosts house and use their wifi? Also a lot of offices with a younger vibe are happy to have a smart hip visitor co-worker for the day--ask your friends in town!
posted by manicure12 at 8:04 PM on July 23, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions! My friend got official sanction for me to squat in his office and work there if I need to voip, otherwise, I'll may hang in the library or check out some of these spots, depending on how many hours I burn.

You all are awesome.
posted by canine epigram at 6:55 PM on July 24, 2012