New York Edition, the city’s first outpost of Ian Schrager’s stylish luxury concept for Marriott, opened in May in the former clock tower headquarters for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company overlooking Madison Square Park. Designed by David Rockwell, the 273-room hotel mixes period details like the original windows with a streamlined residential aesthetic. The property has 2,100 square feet of meeting and event space. Three of its studio spaces can be combined to seat 102 guests theater-style or 80 banquet-style. There is a prefunction space for receptions as well as a 14-person boardroom. Additionally, three 1,350-square-foot penthouses are available for events. Chef Jason Atherton’s the Clocktower restaurant, a partnership with restaurateur Stephen Starr, will plan custom menus for events.
The funky meeting and event space Meet on Chrystie opened in late February from two venue veterans, Marc and Sara Schiller. Under the belief that the city did not need another white-box meeting space, the Schillers designed a Lower East Side venue as a salon-like space with engaging design such as custom patterned wallpaper to a crystal chandelier covered in wax. Clear, doughnut-like lighting fixtures can be stuffed with trinkets for subtle branding opportunities. The space, available for full or partial buyout, has about 3,600 square feet and seats 80 or holds 200 for receptions. It offers audiovisual equipment such as drop-down HD presentation screens, built-in surround sound, and Wi-Fi as well as soundproof dividers for the rooms. Its unique features include an open kitchen, where guests can serve themselves beverages from a glass-front refrigerator.
Located on the 14th floor of the D&D Building in Midtown, the event venue Upper Story by Charlie Palmer has taken over the famed chef’s former Astra space. Following a renovation, the 2,700-square-foot space seats 160 or holds 300 for receptions and can be divided for smaller events. It also boasts a 1,000-square-foot balcony that overlooks the 59th Street Bridge. The site comes with audiovisual equipment as well as a greenroom/bridal suite. It opened in January.
Hudson Garden Grill from Stephen Starr Events opened in April at the New York Botanical Garden. It is the garden’s first full-service, sit-down eatery and serves New American cuisine with ingredients from Hudson Valley farms and other regional producers. Bentel & Bentel designed the space, which includes red oak wall panels made from the garden’s own trees that fell during Hurricane Sandy. The space seats 200 guests—120 on a patio and 80 indoors—and is available for private events.
Atwood Kitchen & Bar Room, an American restaurant from Rivergate Hospitality, opened in Midtown in February. Serving a seasonal menu as well as an extensive craft beer and cocktail list, the 3,750-square-foot space also has a private dining area on its second floor called the Chamber Room. For private events, the second-floor Chamber Room is reached through an entry disguised by bookshelf-inspired wallpaper. The space has velvet chairs, bench-style seating, and cocktail tables. It seats about 25 for dinner or holds 35 for receptions. Both the first and second floors are separately available for events, as well as a full venue buyout. There are 100 seats total split over the two levels.
WestHouse, a 172-room luxury hotel in Midtown, finished renovations to its Den, a lobby-level bar with a speakeasy design, in April. The hotel, which opened in January 2014, features interiors from Jeffrey Beers International that combine Art Deco inspiration with feminizing touches like draped gold necklaces on the wall sconces. The 23rd-floor club level offers space for both informal and formal meetings. The residential-like space has communal tables, an open kitchen with a long central island, and sofas and ottomans in groupings. A private dining room seats eight and comes with audiovisual equipment for meetings. The adjacent terrace, which opened in August, has views of Times Square and holds 40 for receptions. The entire space seats 95 or holds 200 for receptions. A penthouse can host small gatherings of about 10 people.
Located in a courtyard of what was once the lobby of the Endicott Hotel, the Milling Room is an American restaurant with ample space for private events. The Upper West Side venue features 30-foot ceilings, a massive skylight, and industrial design elements such as exposed ducts, painted brick walls, and wrought-iron columns. The dramatic Main Dining Room seats 130 or holds 200 for receptions; within the room is the 40-seat semiprivate area called the Fireplace after its fireplace surrounded by antique terra-cotta tiles. The private Endicott Room seats 24 or holds 35 for receptions, and the Tavern holds 65 for receptions. Buyouts are available. The venue opened in December 2014.
Z NYC Hotel in Long Island City redesigned its lower-level restaurant and lounge space and brought in a new restaurant concept. The new restaurant, Villa Enrico, opened in May and focuses on Italian seafood and fresh pastas. The space seats 120 or holds 200 for receptions. For semiprivate dinners, drapes can section off areas of the dining room. The redesign also moved the bar to the front room in a dedicated lounge space, where the owners also added a sushi bar. Large groups can also meet on the rooftop, which has panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline; it holds 200 for receptions. The hotel also has a 500-square-foot meeting room.
The Chelsea event space 287 Gallery opened in late April, offering a loftlike industrial environment with exposed brick walls, 12-foot ceilings, and an adjoining patio. Its amenities include built-in sound and lighting as well as trussing, high-speed Internet, and extensive back-of-house space for storage or catering prep. The venue holds as many as 150 for receptions or 75 for seated events.
The cocktail bar Lazy Point offers an urban beach house setting, taking inspiration from its namesake spot on Long Island’s East End. The bar, which seats 70, features design details such as weathered sea-green wood floors, whitewashed beach chairs, and beach-theme photographs from the Montauk photographer James Katsipis. The menu of craft cocktails from Jeremy Strawn includes the Bramble Rose made with Hayman’s Gin, lemon, and house-made rose jam, as well as drinks made with a house-infused pistachio vodka. The space opened in March.
