private meeting space in NYC

February 19, 2020 6:02 AM

NYC: a quiet, private place to talk (FLURRY OF SNOWFLAKES INSIDE)

For a pair of close friends to sit and talk – totally focused on each other / uninterrupted and unobserved – for a few hours in the afternoon or evening. Emotionally vulnerable talking, probably some crying, but quiet (no likelihood of any shouting or a Scene).

Am I looking at just, like, renting us a small conference room inside a coworking space? (If so: any recommendations for affordable short-notice rental?? Upper or west-side Manhattan would be ideal, Inwood through the WV.)

Snowflakes:

– can't have a bed and shouldn't otherwise have a hotel room / airbnb feel

– no music playing in the room and no neighbors audibly working on music (otherwise I'd rent us a practice room, the cheap & easy route to private space in NYC)

– not outdoors, even in this warm spell (my friend gets cold easily)

– no incense or other strong/smoky smells

[– ideally flexible in terms of how many hours the talking lasts / billed afterwards for whatever amount of time we take – but I know this might not be possible]

hallllllllp pls

posted by kalapierson to Human Relations (13 answers total)

Do you or your friend have access to any college libraries as students or alumni or boosters or anything? The first thing I thought of was a study room, specifically the ones at NYU Bobst, although I'm guessing there's many others sprinkled throughout Manhattan.
posted by saladin at 6:20 AM on February 19, 2020

Some libraries have rooms like this. I know the Central branch of the Brooklyn library does, all you need is a library card and you can reserve a room.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:36 AM on February 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

Breather seems like what you are looking for except for the location--it's all midtown and below.
posted by greta simone at 6:47 AM on February 19, 2020 [5 favorites]

A restaurant with small private rooms perhaps? You might need to buy food.
posted by nickggully at 6:51 AM on February 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

This previous ask on the least crowded cultural spaces might be helpful if walking & talking works part of the time, though most of these probably close around 5pm.
posted by veery at 6:53 AM on February 19, 2020

Response by poster: Thank you all! To answer questions, we're not current NYC residents or NYC university alums, and totally uninterrupted is my first goal (no waiters, other museum guests etc. – i.e. nobody else has a right to enter the room for a few hours), with affordable a close second goal (the very cheapest Breather options could be possible – thanks for that link).
posted by kalapierson at 7:01 AM on February 19, 2020

Most churches and synagogues have extra rooms (generally classrooms and offices) that aren't regularly in use -- if you contact the pastor's/rabbi's office and speak to someone about what and why you need the space, many of them might be willing to let you use or rent a room for a low fee.
posted by Mchelly at 7:40 AM on February 19, 2020 [3 favorites]

This option isn’t ideal for a number of reasons, but if you’re really in a pinch you could rent a car for the day and find a place to park on a street near Inwood Hill Park, or along Riverside Drive, or maybe in one of the small lots inside Fort Tryon Park. If it’s a relatively mild sunny day like today, just being out of the wind and in an enclosed car might be warm enough without having to run the heater. You’ll still have the occasional pedestrian walking by and ignoring you, which may or may not meet your privacy threshold.
posted by theory at 7:48 AM on February 19, 2020 [2 favorites]

You might ask this of a local, grassroots community mediation center. If the space is not in use for their mediations, this could be a permissible use of their space for a donation.
posted by childofTethys at 8:08 AM on February 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've successfully used Liquidspace a bunch of times for purposes similar to yours. It's similar to Breather, above, and I've found it easy and hassle-free. You can rent by the hour, and you can extend your booking in real time, as long as the space is still available. Signup and payments are straightforward: it's essentially the same as Lyft or Instacart or whatever.

I've never used a Liquidspace rental in upper Manhattan, but I can definitely vouch for a place in midtown called WorkHouse. It offers lots of spaces that sound like what you need. (Like, rooms with sofas and rugs and table lamps, not just boardrooms.) The rooms are partly glass-walled but otherwise private, and there is a kitchen on every floor where you can make tea or coffee. It's quiet, and I think I remember paying about $200 for a half-day on average. And I always have really liked the WorkHouse admin staff: they are super nice.

I feel like an ad for WorkHouse lol. But really, I have used them a lot and I think that (except possibly for the location), they're very suitable for what you need.
posted by Susan PG at 8:11 AM on February 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

Peer Space is an AirBNB-style rental listings service for finding meeting spaces, photoshoot spaces, etc. You can search by map to see what's near your location, and see pictures of the rooms.
posted by xo at 8:12 AM on February 19, 2020 [4 favorites]

Breather, as said above. That is what you want. I've used it a bunch for bigger and smaller meetings and it's good for exactly what you want.
posted by ch1x0r at 5:42 PM on February 19, 2020

Seconding Peerspace.
posted by Julnyes at 9:27 AM on February 20, 2020