The other day, I visited several co-working spaces in New York City based on this article (which I now realize is from 2011). Here’s my take (ordered by my preference).

  1. New Work City

    Likes

    • Free equipment to borrow! Spare monitors + adapters and other electronic miscellany.
    • A good-sized, well-stocked kitchen
    • A couple “phone booth” rooms for phone calls. The rooms aren’t very soundproof though.
    • Essentially no closing time. If you want to stay late, the staff can teach you how to lock up.

    Dislikes

    • Squeeky floors could be distracting. Can probably be mitigated with headphones

  2. Makeshift Society (Bonus!)

    Likes

    • Huge windows with lots of natural lighting
    • Basement level with kitchen
    • Whiteboards have a wooden finish

    Dislikes

    • Located in Brooklyn (less convenient for me)
    • Large, open space can be loud/echoey

  3. Fueled Collective

    I wasn’t able to get a tour per-se, but I did get to look around the space.

    Likes

    • Huge space with lovely decor
    • 24-hour access

    Dislikes

    • 3-month minimum

  4. General Assembly

    Likes

    • Wide open space and separate wings with cubicle like spaces
    • Electronic signs indicate when conference rooms are booked

    Dislikes

    • No longer a coworking space as of January 2014.

  5. WeWork Labs

    WeWork has many locations around New York City offering private offices, dedicated desks, and hot desks. I finally scheduled a visit to their Soho offices and have been back for meetings a few times since.

    They were short on staff when I visited, so were unable to give me a tour. I’ll update this post when I get a chance to visit the space.

    Likes

    • Large lounge area for hot desks
    • Private office section includes small lounges to take a break

    Dislikes

    • Office spaces can be a little small

  6. Projective Space

    No one was home to say hello, so I didn’t get a chance to see the space. Perhaps another day.

    Likes

    • Wide open spaces

    Dislikes

    • Can be quite noisy

Final Thoughts

I really like the way these places keep the old interior of the buildings. Sometimes the floors are a little squeeky, but it gives each place a unique character that is just so hard to replicate.

Many of these coworking spaces don’t seem to open on the weekends. Perhaps that’s just a hint to quit working and get out to have some fun!

Update 6/17/2014: Added WeWork and Projective Space details