Mike Fletcher selects a handful of new and upcoming venue openings in the Big Apple after New York scoops the Top Cultural City for International Meetings ranking.
New York City (NYC) has secured the number one spot in IBTM’s Top Cultural Cities for International Meetings chart. With its 359 museums, 509 Michelin-starred restaurants, 219 art galleries and 190 theatres, it’s easy to see why overseas conference and meetings delegates enjoy spending additional time in the ‘city that never sleeps’.
If you’re organising an event or incentive to NYC, here are five of the hottest new venues that should be on every planner’s radar.
Best for: Cultural entertainment
Hall des Lumières
Located in the former Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank at 49 Chambers Street in Tribeca, the Hall des Lumières digital art centre is the result of a collaboration between Culturespaces (the venue management team behind ‘Atelier Des Lumières’ in Paris), and IMG.
Hall des Lumières opened on 14 September with its inaugural exhibition, Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion.
Guests are transported into a multi-sensory celebration of Klimt’s most celebrated work via projection mapping choreographed onto the walls, floors and columns of the architecturally stunning banking hall.
The experience can form a unique backdrop for 1,500-capacity evening receptions or seated dinners for up 500 guests.
Best for: Meetings & conferences
810 Seventh Avenue
Etc.Venues has announced its third New York City meetings and events venue, due to open before the end of the year.
The 23,000 sqft facility, spread across two floors of the 41-storey, 810 Seventh Avenue building, offers views of Central Park and the Hudson River. It will feature seven meeting spaces, with its largest room able to accommodate up to 140 theatre-style.
810 Seventh Avenue will extend the venue operator’s NYC portfolio beyond 100,000 sqft of events space. Etc.Venues opened 360 Madison Avenue (45th Street) in March 2020 and 601 Lexington Avenue (53rd Street) in June 2021. It is currently considering further openings in the city for 2023.
Best for: Luxury business travel
Aman New York
The 83-suite Aman New York welcomed its first hotel guests on 2 August, after taking over the iconic Crown Building in Manhattan – built in 1921 and once home to NYC’s Museum of Modern Art.
Resting on the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, the southeast Asian-inspired Aman features functioning fireplaces in every suite (a first in NYC), plus a wellness centre spanning three storeys with a dramatic indoor swimming pool surrounded by fire pits as its centrepiece.
Restaurants include a convivial Italian called Arva and Nama, Aman’s interpretation of Japan’s washoku dining tradition, which features a Japanese Hinoki wood counter for omakase-style fine dining. Aman also features a jazz club, wine library and a wraparound Garden Terrace.
Best for: Black-tie events
Wall Street Hotel
Opened on 1 June, the Wall Street Hotel in Manhattan’s Financial District boasts 180 rooms in the historic Tontine building between Pearl and Water Street.
For event planners, there’s over 6,500 sqft of flexible space, including pre-function rooms, a ballroom, and a social lounge housed inside of a bar.
The 2,100 sqft ballroom can accommodate receptions for up to 100 guests or theatre-style seating arrangements for 192 delegates.
The Wall Street Hotel’s signature restaurant, La Marchange, handles all food and beverage for events, while Bar Tontine’s social lounge for up to 100 guests is ideal for gatherings against the stunning backdrop of the New York Harbour.
Best for: Receptions & dinners
Brooklyn Chop House Steakhouse
In March, the Brooklyn Chop House in Times Square added an upscale, Asian-fusion steakhouse serving culinary highlights such as short-rib bao buns, bacon cheeseburger dumplings, dry-aged porterhouse, and nine-season shrimp.
This five-level restaurant in the heart of NYC’s entertainment district, features a main dining room for 120-seated or 150-standing guests; a mezzanine for 30-seated or 50-standing; and a rooftop garden for 50-seated or 75-standing.
With walls and ceilings lined with live greenery and elegant lights, the Garden is a dynamic event canvas and has a retractable glass roof.
Six private dining rooms, equipped with screens, state-of-the-art sound and customisable LED lighting are also available.
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