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Thanks to the great response to this fundraiser, we’d like to thank readers by scheduling some meetups pronto. The reason we don’t do them more often is that as much as we really enjoy serving as an excuse for members of the Naked Capitalism community to meet each other, getting out and about means we aren’t at our keyboards surveying the state of the world and churning out hopefully informative links and commentary.
Here is a tentative schedule.
Boston Thursday October 19
New York City Tuesday October 24
Philadelphia Thursday November 2
The Boston and Philadelphia meetups depend on readers finding suitable venues! That means YOU!
The venue that worked the best so far was lounge at the Marriott Residences in Chicago. It had a remarkably large bar areas, and we got an entire quiet section in the back for ourselves. So the key criteria are:
Ability to accommodate a large group (I guesstimate 40+ for Boston, 20-30 for Philadelphia)
Ease of mingling
Low noise level
Good access to public transportation or otherwise well located
In New York, I am seeing if we can meet again at Slainte, which has a very large back room they usually let us book.
We also have a meetup already scheduled for Atlanta on November 15, and need readers to find a spot there too. I expect turnout to be more modest, probably 20. But we still need a place to gather, so please provide ideas in comments!
Hoping to firm all of this up and see you soon!
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Ideas for Boston:
The bars around Fenway are relatively quiet once the Red Sox are done (should be out of the playoffs after today). The bars here are large to handle game day crowds like Game On or the Cask and Flagon. They are sports bars though, so Thursday night football will be on the TVs on the audio.
I’ll also call some of the hotels close to Back Bay, South Station, and North Station to get a sense of what their lobby bars can accommodate.
That’s great, thanks! I need a specific idea or ideas (or even better, you making a battlefield decision) and I appreciate you doing the legwork. I prefer not to be in a situation where I have to give a credit card to commit to a minimum, although I will do that if the minimum is fairly small.
Hi Yves,
Re: Boston Meetup. I would recommend the Westin Waterfront hotel: http://www.westinbostonwaterfront.com/
The lobby bar is quite large and can handle a sizable walk in group. There are no reservations for it, but luckily there are no very large conferences at the nearby convention center.
https://signatureboston.com/events#bcec
You can walk to the hotel from South Station and take the Silver line from the Airport and other parts of the city.
No hotel would guarantee that they would not be busy on a given night as they spaces are not reserved and all recommended booking a private space if we wanted to be assured of having a gathering space. I’m assuming we don’t want to do that, so the Westin Waterfront looks like a good bet to me.
I don’t have any ideas for Philly because I’d be coming in from Amish country, but just wanted to raise a hand for a meetup. I put it on my calendar!
What part of Amish country are you from? I’m in Lancaster county.
I grew up in Chester County. Mom still lives there.
Up in Berks Co.
I am in the Philadelphia area and would like to come.
I am near the city, but somewhat out of the loop on venues. However, if needed, I can make some phone calls, etc. That is less than a month, so let me know.
Hey Fran, please do, I’m out of the loop on anything hip or appropriate.
Question: Center City or farther out, but near train & turnpike? Will people be mostly driving here or taking Amtrak, etc? Center City is bad for driving, and expensive. I am thinking of something farther out that would be easier to drive to, near the turnpike and also near a local train.
For the Philadelphia group: OK. I have located a place that looks nice and appropriate to me. I will call them tomorrow. It is a local brewery/restaurant with a room in the back. They do not charge for the room, but do charge for extra staff. It is in Chestnut Hill, a very nice area – not too far from turnpike and very near a local train from center city. I will provide more details if it is available.
If that doesn’t work out, I’m thinking of some places in fishtown. Right near the El, and parking is usually not too bad, compared to center or South Philly.
Downtown Boston has a few places with separate areas that might work. The downstairs portions of The Merchant, Stoddards and Elephant & Castle all come to mind. Stoddards is the smallest of the choices but has the best libations. None of these places are cheap, but none out of whack for a city like Boston.
The Copley Plaza is centrally located, but may entail a few. The Oak Room in the hotel could possibly work.
NYC Oct 24 is fine with me
Will Nobody Likes Rocks be making an appearance at Slainte?
I live pretty close to Atlanta, so I’ll certainly try to make it the meetup there in mid-November. Since I haven’t been to Atlanta in years, I can’t suggest any place in or around the city. But I do have several friends that go there quite often to attend concerts, sporting events, or just to shop, so I’ll ask a couple of them to recommend a place that would be great for about 20 of us, which is not too noisy, but not too quiet, and is somewhat centrally located without being too far off the beaten path. It might require me to do some digging for myself, but eventually I will come up with a few suggestions that won’t disappoint, at least I hope they won’t.
Thanks so much, but I need to clarify one of our requirements:
There is no such thing as too quiet. People want to converse. Any and I mean any noise is a negative. Even an overly reflective room is a negative.
We will have a big enough crowd that we will generate plenty of noise ourselves. We do not need any environmental noise.
Just a friendly reminder from the Deep South Populists to NOT FORGET ABOUT US here in New Orleans!
This is totally a guilt trip message btw
Y’all talk all the time about the MSM ignoring the flyover states. DONT YALL FN DO IT TOO!
Birmingham is closer to nawlins than Atlanta. Maybe we could save Yves a drive and just meet where she’ll be???
I see and raise your guilt trip message.
On behalf of the populists from the Real Deep South (hereinafter, the “RDS”), I would like to note that there has never been so much as a proposal for a meeting anywhere south of Key West.
Damn Yanquis.
Yearning for a Tucson meetup …
Heard you and would love to do one, but depends on how the fundraiser goes.
Totally off topic–NC just got the first link I’ve seen on slashdot.org, to Jerri-Lynn’s article on biometrics. Compliments to Jerri-Lynn.
Slashdot was at one time a phenomenal brain trust, funny and clever and informative, and even though it has lost its creditable editing team, there are still a few old-timers there in the peanut gallery who make it worth while. Often the commentary is useful, competing with this site’s notable following.
For Boston – 49 social. Near red, green and orange line stops, quiet and can likely reserve whole upstairs and ask for music to be turned off.
Will call this week, thanks!
Manuel’s Tavern in Atlanta comes to mind. You could reserve a whole room if it’s available that day. It’s a popular place for meetups. Also known as the watering hole for Democratic party operatives since the 50s. Not very good for public transit, but most places here are not.
Thanks, will see what they say.
I’d be interested in a Boston Meetup. That’s just 60 miles away from me.
How about a Southwest Florida meet up? Sarasota, St. Petersburg, or Tampa?
So when is the Pacific Northwest going to feel the love?
Portland is high on my list for next year. I am thinking about another multi-city run despite the train wreck the last one was (the emergency room visits!)
How about Daytona Beach?
What time at Slainte?
We start at 5:00 PM but let me confirm that we can get that room. A couple of times it was booked.
Philadelphia?
I smell democracy in the air…. Kudos everyone…
Philadelphia, for 11/2. I have considered various options and looked into a number of them. The following one strikes me as desirable. It is a short, pleasant walk from the local train, and a pretty straight shot of fifteen minute drive from the turnpike exit. My feeling is that this would be much easier on people who are driving in, but also available to people on public transit. The room is a private dining room in the back. There is no charge for the room, but charge for dedicated staff.
I have not done a meetup before, but tried to keep your parameters well in mind. I am assuming people might want to order light meals or drinks. I am also assuming it would go from about 5:00 pm on.
This is near me because that is the area I know. I think center city would end up being definitely more expensive and not convenient for those driving. For people coming from other areas of Philadelphia, I can provide directions if necessary. Chestnut Hill is a very old, quite nice, area of Philadelphia.
People should speak up if they do not like the idea. I will not be offended.
As of now, the room is available. The deposit is $100, refundable with notice, as I understand.
https://www.ironhillbrewery.com/chestnut-hill-pa/private-events
https://www.ironhillbrewery.com/assets/craft/Banquet_SP-2017_CH.pdf
Please let me know whether to proceed. Thanks!
Philly…There are many good meeting rooms in Philadelphia. Meeting anywhere between 5-6p must be convenient for Yves since the town is very spread out.
If Yves could pipe in an give us the area where she is staying, we could find a place nearby.
Yes. I actually meant to ask where she and others might be planning to stay. Good suggestion.
More Philly options… may be easier to get to via mass transit.
New Deck Tavern – University City – (Pub style)
They have a room at no charge/no deposit, would just like a minimum spend of $350 (does not seem difficult)
Order food and drinks from menu.
http://www.newdecktavern.com/
Very close to 30th St Station – large transit hub
FARMiCiA – Old City – (Local and in-season when possible)
They also have room – just a maximum of 3 credit cards for payment per table. (could be tricky)
Order food and drinks from menu.
http://farmiciarestaurant.com/
Very close to Independence Hall Station – good size hub
Food at FARMiCiA is great, have not been to New Deck Tavern, but menu looks good… and the room is easier to manage.
Thanks a lot! I need to line up a room soon, so having choices helps.
I considered University City as I am familiar with Penn. My feeling is that it would be not inexpensive and either difficult or expensive to park. In fact, it is easier to get on a local train at 30th St Station than it is to get over to Penn from 30th St. Station. You can walk, but it is not a nice walk up Market St. and it is not a short walk.
Old City I expect has the same considerations for expense and parking.
I just checked the trains from Center City to Chestnut Hill. You can pick up the train at Market, between 10 and 12th (near Convention Center and Reading Terminal Market, w/hotels); at 16th and JFK (the Parkway w/several major hotels); and at 30th St. Station.
The local is a straight shot – no transfers, to the final stop (you won’t miss your stop). About 30 minutes.
If we meet in the city, it should probably be near one of the terminals above, for people coming in from the region, near or far.
My feeling is that it is much easier to take the train out than it is for people who are driving in. I consider it the best compromise, and less expensive all around. Chestnut Hill is one of the few places where the train comes right into the area of shops and restaurants. (Actually, it is the only local area that has two train lines.) It is still within the city. (I also made sure the room would be quiet.)
I live here, and I will not be driving if we meet in center city. I will take the train. So either way works for me.
If the only consideration is within the Center City area, then there are undoubtedly many choices.