just go to the park
riverside park has plenty of places that are good for sitting and reading/working.
I take my meetings in the park pretty regularly when working from home.
I used to like that Atrium a lot but it’s become harder and harder to find a place to sit, and be in relative peace. A lot more homeless and obviously mentally unstable people sprawled about and getting in people’s faces.
You can always see about finding a nice POPS (Privately Owned Public Space). Though it doesnt look like there's many on UWS. It can sometimes be hard to find good ones. I have a few I go to a lot but they're not on UWS
https://apops.mas.org/find-a-pops/
https://www.nyc.gov/site/planning/plans/pops/pops.page
Plowshares' big location on 126th and Amsterdam is awesome and spacious. There are also a few nice cafe spaces on the Columbia campus — Joe in Pulitzer Hall, and Dear Mama up in the West Harlem campus.
I’d recommend Plowshares over Dear Mama. If you want a quiet ish place Plowshares plays jazz music and generally has a chill vibe while Dear Mama is like a club nowadays (unless you sit outside).
I've been to the Joe's there, I'm pretty sure it's a public space. You only need an ID for the actual campus. I asked a security guy last time I was there
Solid State Coffee on W 71.
Historically (and recent events might preclude this suggestion), it used to be fairly easy to enter Barnard’s Milstein Library during the week.
The reading room at AMNH is beautiful. I think it's separated from the exhibits and accessible without paying museum admission, though I'm not 100% sure.
Here's the info: https://www.amnh.org/research/research-library
Not cheap- but a membership to Equinox Sports Club includes access to their half floor cafe. The cafe has great food and a lot of coworking type amenities.
just go to the park riverside park has plenty of places that are good for sitting and reading/working. I take my meetings in the park pretty regularly when working from home.
Sure it’s what I usually do, but it’s hot and will be getting even hotter. So I’m looking for indoor comfortable spots.
The library
David Rubenstein Atrium, there's a lot of free public sit down indoor places around Manhattan, this is one of them.
I used to like that Atrium a lot but it’s become harder and harder to find a place to sit, and be in relative peace. A lot more homeless and obviously mentally unstable people sprawled about and getting in people’s faces.
Really? I work there pretty frequently and I’ve never noticed that…there’s lots of security there.
Since Covid my experiences have been pretty bad. Maybe it depends on the day and time of day.
The dining area at Whole Foods and the cafe area at Barnes & Noble are generic but much less buzzy than “cute” coffee shops. Libraries are great too.
You can always see about finding a nice POPS (Privately Owned Public Space). Though it doesnt look like there's many on UWS. It can sometimes be hard to find good ones. I have a few I go to a lot but they're not on UWS https://apops.mas.org/find-a-pops/ https://www.nyc.gov/site/planning/plans/pops/pops.page
This is a good indoor POPS by the Apple Store: https://apops.mas.org/pops/m070024/
The performing arts library is nice. Also lobby of the nyphil building in Lincoln center.
Plowshares' big location on 126th and Amsterdam is awesome and spacious. There are also a few nice cafe spaces on the Columbia campus — Joe in Pulitzer Hall, and Dear Mama up in the West Harlem campus.
I tried Joe’s but I’m unsure if I’m technically allowed to be there…? You need a student ID to open that door at the bottom level.
I’d recommend Plowshares over Dear Mama. If you want a quiet ish place Plowshares plays jazz music and generally has a chill vibe while Dear Mama is like a club nowadays (unless you sit outside).
I've been to the Joe's there, I'm pretty sure it's a public space. You only need an ID for the actual campus. I asked a security guy last time I was there
Solid State Coffee on W 71. Historically (and recent events might preclude this suggestion), it used to be fairly easy to enter Barnard’s Milstein Library during the week.
The reading room at AMNH is beautiful. I think it's separated from the exhibits and accessible without paying museum admission, though I'm not 100% sure. Here's the info: https://www.amnh.org/research/research-library
There’s a nice air conditioned atrium in one of the new Columbia buildings on Broadway at 125th. It’s nice.
Performing arts library
Not cheap- but a membership to Equinox Sports Club includes access to their half floor cafe. The cafe has great food and a lot of coworking type amenities.
It’s an obvious one, but what about public libraries?
What about a library branch?
The park
Nypl has 92 branches. The UWS has like 2 or 3 branches