[gloco]

I have no plans to attend anymore Grado meets, but i suggest trying a community college. Try Kingsborough in Brooklyn, it's in a nice neighborhood and i imagine it may be easier to persuade them to give you a room to use. Plus, i think parking will be very easy on the weekend if they allow you to park inside one of the campus parking lots.

 

[erikzen]

I only say SJU because I'm a graduate (89 BA Gov't & Politics) as well as an MBA student. I thought it might be easier to get the space if I was a student as opposed to someone from the outside.

I also checked around to see if there was an A/V club on campus and there doesn't appear to be. I like the idea of forming one. I'm all for giving back to the community so this might be a small way of helping out the school if there are other students interested in audio. Considering the school has a media department with TV studio and radio station, I suppose there would be interest. (Although it does beg the question of why such a club doesn't exist.)

If SJU does not allow the meet, or if there is overwhelming negative response from the Head-Fi community regarding the location, then I'm not opposed to Kingsborough. Furthermore, if everyone prefers Brookly over Queens (or any other borough or location) that's fine with me, too. I'm just trying to do my part to find a venue since this will not be held at Grado Labs. This is of course provided there is enough interstet in having a fall meet.

My father lives about a block from Kingsborough so I'm very familiar with the neighborhood. I imagine that any school will have available parking on a Saturday.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn The only thing we have to watch is that the college students dont bring a Slurpee and a mustarded pretzel in there and slather it over the gear. And have them all take showers beforehand, sometimes hygiene is not big with the kids.

The other thing that I'd be concerned with is theft. I hate to say it but big campuses (and small ones, too, unfortunately

) are not known for being the most secure places, especially in NYC. If the turnout is relatively small or we make the kids sign up for it then we could probably easily deal with this. I just wouldn't want this to be some kind of open house where slurpees or theft would be an issue.

 

[Jahn]

No AV club?? What kind of college is this? Where do all the geeks and nerds go to congregate? All kidding aside, this is the perfect time to grab some eager freshmen straight out of orientation and offer to be their counselor/sponsor for the club - just about, hmm, 5 kids should do the trick, then just talk to the admins and bam you have a club. If you don't mind talking to the students running the radio station, etc to gather up interest, that might be a worthwhile thing to do. You could even raid the station's old vinyl and bring some choice rare promo records to the meet, i'm sure someone's going to bring their turntable. By the end of all this, St. Johns will have a new club, head-fi would have a fee-free meet in a big space, and you can be the Audio Godfather. (go rent Old School if you haven't seen it yet!)

 

[lan]

How would one get their by public transportation? The convenience factor is is a factor..

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan How would one get their by public transportation? The convenience factor is is a factor..

Indeed. There's gotta be rental halls (small and large) in Manhattan which would probably be the borough of choice for mass transportation.

Edit: Try a hotel!

double edit: http://www.americanconferencecenters.com/ ---looks fancy.

I say check out community centers in Manhattan (just google it)

Good luck.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gloco Good luck.

Believe it or not there is a lack of free space available in Manhattan. Communiy centers in Manhattan are usually set aside for a certain group, religious community centers, senior centers, youth and after school programs. If you're not a member of the particular program then chances are you're not going to get free space. That's why SJU makes sense. As a student and alumni they are probably more willing to give me the space, especially, as Jahn mentions, I'm willing to help form a campus club.

Certainly Manhattan is the borough of choice, but probably the hardest place to get free space. If anyone is a member of a church or religious organization or is a member of some other organization that would be the best bet. Of course, I will keep trying.

It is not that hard to get to St. Johns by public transportation, although you must take a bus since the nearest subway stop is a far walk. The easest way is to take the E train to Kew Gardens and catch the Q-46 bus. The bus ride is less than 10 minutes.

I.N.D. Subways
E Train
Take train to Kew Gardens/Union Turnpike station.
Take Q-46 bus to Union Turnpike and Utopia Parkway.


F Train
Take train to 169th Street station.
Take Q-30 or Q-31 bus to St. John's University main gate on Utopia Parkway and 82nd Avenue.

I.R.T.
Subway, 7 Train
Take train to Main Street, Flushing.
Take Q-17 bus to Utopia Parkway and the Long Island Expressway.
Transfer to the Q-30 or Q-31 bus to St. John's University main gate on Utopia Parkway and 82nd Avenue.

Long Island Railroad (L.I.R.R.)
Take L.I.R.R. to Jamaica Station.
Take the Q-30 bus to St. John's University main gate on Utopia Parkway and 82nd Avenue.

By car it is easier than Grado Labs as it is right off the Grand Central Parkway.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gloco Indeed. There's gotta be rental halls (small and large) in Manhattan which would probably be the borough of choice for mass transportation.

The idea is to keep the venue free so we don't have to charge/ask for donations.

 

[meech]

Hey guys,

I'm working on something for us in NYC. I'm going to go look at a conference room about 2 blocks from Penn Station in Manhattan. It looks like the place has a few rooms with the largest being about 850 square feet. I'll see if the guy is willing to give me a deal on one a large room and an adjacent smaller room for a good price.

I think it's going to come up to about $300 which I will pay if the space works. If anyone cares to make donations to help me out, I'd gladly accept, but no pressure.

I'll let you guys know my findings when I get home tonight.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meech Hey guys, I'm working on something for us in NYC. I'm going to go look at a conference room about 2 blocks from Penn Station in Manhattan. It looks like the place has a few rooms with the largest being about 850 square feet. I'll see if the guy is willing to give me a deal on one a large room and an adjacent smaller room for a good price. I think it's going to come up to about $300 which I will pay if the space works. If anyone cares to make donations to help me out, I'd gladly accept, but no pressure. I'll let you guys know my findings when I get home tonight.

Is that the Hotel Pennsylvania? That place is huge, I did some Bar review classes there and they have a ton of conference rooms. But I thought they were pricey - $300 sound like a killer and, assuming at least 30 people will be coming, that's still $10 each - I hope that's not a turn off for folks! If it would help I could help with the munchies in the second smaller room you mentioned.

 

[erikzen]

That would be perfect. Thanks meech! I'd be willing to make a donation to help cover your cost.

The only problem I can see with Manhattan might be parking. Either you'll have to pay $30 to park in a garage or take your chances on the street. Sunday would be a better day because I think there are less restrictions for street parking. Of course, it would be much more convenient for public transportation but if you're bringing in gear you'll need a car.

By the way, I already contacted SJU regarding space but judging by the fact that they haven't responded to me yet I'm not too sure that's going to happen. If I do get space there, that can be a backup if we don't find anything else that people find more convenient.

I also remember someone suggesting a rec room or something in their Manhattan apartment building. I tried looking through some old meet threads but didn't find anything. I think the guy even posted some pictures of the space and it looked pretty nice. Does anyone remember that or who the poster was?

 

[meech]

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikzen The only problem I can see with Manhattan might be parking. Either you'll have to pay $30 to park in a garage or take your chances on the street. Sunday would be a better day because I think there are less restrictions for street parking. I also remember someone suggesting a rec room or something in their Manhattan apartment building. I tried looking through some old meet threads but didn't find anything. I think the guy even posted some pictures of the space and it looked pretty nice. Does anyone remember that or who the poster was?

I totally agree. I think it will be a good location for the people coming in from NJ/PA/MD or even Long Island because it's so close to Penn Station. I think guys would still be able to bring their gear in a shopping cart or something like that since it's only a 2 block walk from their train. I also agree that Sunday would be better due to the parking restrictions. Good point!.




Actually, that was me also. This option is still available but it will be quite expensive. I think they wanted $500 for 4 hours. I can't afford to do that alone. I think the idea of charging people 20 to 25 dollars for admission will turn this into something that we don't want. As Jpelg said, I think people will then start to have expectations and will want to make sure they get their 'money's worth'.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meech Actually, that was me also. This option is still available but it will be quite expensive. I think they wanted $500 for 4 hours. I can't afford to do that alone. I think the idea of charging people 20 to 25 dollars for admission will turn this into something that we don't want. As Jpelg said, I think people will then start to have expectations and will want to make sure they get their 'money's worth'.

I think that raising expectations is definitely a concern but probably more of a concern is the fact that if we have to charge people money then attendance will diminish. Those that do show up get stuck with the bill and there will be less interaction among members and less gear to listen to.

Are we getting ahead of ourselves here? I mean are we even going to have enough people attending to have a meet? I see 7 people who have posted in this thread. One of them is Gloco who will not be attending and the other is bozebuttons who only posted to say a Grado meet was not going to happen. Do we need to start another intersest check thread?

 

[meech]

That's a good idea.

We may be just spinning our wheels for no good reason!

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meech That's a good idea.

OK, here's the interest check thread. Please post there if you're interested in attending a fall NYC Head-Fi meet.