Getting into the habit of blogging more is a challenge for me, so when the inspiration strikes I try to just let it fly. Here’s a quick rundown on how everything’s going: We’re almost ready to seal a deal with Green Spaces to share their lovely space on 394 Broadway during our interim period. The folks there are super cool, and it looks like we’re going to be able to come to terms that work great for both of us. Members will be able to keep their current memberships running, and simply start showing up there starting May 3rd. Look out for a more formal announcement and details this week. We’re looking for space with some brokers from CBRE, who have been working double time to find a space that works for us. Despite the high-octane effort at finding space, we seem to be hitting a wall— prices are too high for the sizes and locations we’ve been looking for. We’re going to keep digging, but may have to start getting more creative with how we approach finding a space. I don’t think I’ve posted here exactly what we’re looking for, so here it is: We’ve got a lot more other metrics in mind, but if you or someone you know comes across something that fits the above, we’d like to talk to them, stat. Along the way, we’re also getting ready to raise money to make the move to the new space possible. We need to strike a magic balance between reducing our up-front costs and piecing together enough cash to cover the difference, and that means exploring a lot of possible fronts. Right now, nobody takes any money from NWC (it does, however, pay for my MetroCard). All of the profits we’ve turned to date are in NWC’s bank account and will be our starting point for the next space. On top of that, we’ll be offering pre-paid memberships in the new space along the lines of what IndyHall offered up last year, so that as much of our efforts are supported by the community itself. We’ll almost certainly need some support above that. We’re looking at our options for super-friendly loans and sponsorships, and would love to hear your ideas on models that you think might work. The idea would be to give people who want to support us an opportunity to help us get on our feet in a way that’s practical and doesn’t necessarily entail outright charity. If someone, for instance, loaned us cash with very relaxed terms, we could pay it back over time as we ramp up our operations— and their return on investment would be more the impact we have on our community than dollars and cents. In the meantime? We have to move out of our current space. We’ll be dealing with some funky logistics as we transition out, including having some pieces of furniture go away before we close our doors, and having some things put away in storage before our last day. Our last day at 200 Varick Street will be Friday 4/30, and we’ll probably close early. We’re going to throw an informal farewell shindig on 4/30; email me or comment below to be looped in on that (if you’re a NWC member, you’ll already be in the loop). Thoughts? Questions? How can I help you? How can you help me? Cheers,
Mayor Tony
NWC 2.0
NYC's community center for independents.
