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I'm not sure a support group is exactly what is needed -- there are a bunch of those around (nextny comes to mind, and has been around for years). However, I d

I'm not sure a support group is exactly what is needed -- there are a bunch of those around (nextny comes to mind, and has been around for years). However, I do agree that the startup scene is rather fragmented here in NYC. While there definitely are neighborhoods with higher concentrations of tech startups (SoHo, Chelsea, and Dumbo come to mind), there really is no 'startup district', if you will. We don't have a neighborhood like, say, South Park, where you have a ton of smaller startup companies concentrated into a fairly small area, or even a common district home to all the large tech companies, like the bay area has. We do have a financial district, fashion district, theater district, diamond district, jazz district, etc etc. While not totally necessary, I do think having a physical center where similar types of businesses call home is really an overlooked part of the success of an industry. It creates a community and helps facilitate a natural type of networking, solely because people doing similar things run into each other every day. Plus the after-work drinks in the neighborhood bars would probably breed even more natural business deals/partnerships. I saw that happening a lot when I worked on Wall St -- you'd be tripping over other hedge fund guys at the pubs after work, just because of the nature of the neighborhood. That said, I'd purpose somewhere like Gowanus in Brooklyn, where leases are cheap and the neighborhood is only now starting to be developed. Lots of Gowanus also has tax incentives associated with it, as it is one of the Empire Zones. Not to mention you're close to the third largest subway stop in the city, making commuting easy. Prospect Park is a short walk away as well. The neighborhood is bound to change to a business focused area within a couple of years anyways, once the stadium for the Brooklyn Nets is built a couple blocks away at Atlantic Yards. Might as well make it a tech-centered district.

aditya 17y ago
Gowanus would be cool, except it's a bit far out of Manhattan, which is why DUMBO works. DUMBO is a desert in terms of food choices though. (Not that South Park is any better), but DUMBO is also expensive to live in. I say put all the startups in Greenpoint (cheap labor (hipsters), low rent, and mccarren park!). On a more serious note, I think it would be nice to have a dense concentration of startups in a nice part of town but I don't know how one would pull that off.
- mtalantikite 17y ago
  True, Gowanus isn't super close to manhattan, but I find that a lot of young developers live in Brooklyn to begin with, so not having to commute into the city is a win. If you're living in upper manhattan it might not be a great commute option, but what young person wants to live in upper manhattan? Brooklyn is way cooler ;) Greenpoint I find is even more isolated than Gowanus, simply by the fact that the only viable transportation is the G. Gowanus has the 2,3,4,5,D,M,N,R,B,Q,G and LIRR all convenient to it. The hipsters can take a 10-15 minute G ride down, while everyone else in the city or out on Long Island can still have easy options to get there. It's beginning to develop in Gowanus over the past year, with new coffee shops, artist studios, big music venues, and plenty of vacant commercial buildings being renovated.
anamax 17y ago
> We don't have a neighborhood like, say, South Park, where you have a ton of smaller startup companies concentrated into a fairly small area, or even a common district home to all the large tech companies, like the bay area has. Where is this "common district home to all of the large tech companies, like the bay area has" that you're referring to? If you're thinking of Mountain View, Palo Alto, or San Francisco, you're talking about a fairly large area that is also home to lots of other things. If you're thinking of some neighborhood in SF or Berkeley, you're missing a huge fraction of the startups in the Bay Area.
- aditya 17y ago
  They did say South Park and I believe that and SoMA have most of the startup action, don't they?
  - anamax 17y ago
    > They did say South Park and I believe that and SoMA have most of the startup action, don't they? I doubt it. (I've never heard of "South Park" and I've been in the Bay Area for years. I thought that SP was a reference to some NY district.) SoMA may have about as many startups as NYC, but that's not enough to be "most" in the Bay Area.
    - aditya 17y ago
      http://www.nbcbayarea.com/around-town/debates/Best_Startup_Neighborhood_South_Park_vs_Professorville.html http://www.nbcbayarea.com/around-town/debates/Best_Startup_N... You should really go check South Park out, it is a pretty part of town too.
      - anamax 17y ago
        That reference says that South Park is a part of SoMA, a part that I worked in a couple of years ago. (SF is "famous" for folks inventing neighborhood names. They often do so to try to influence real estate values.) Like I said, SoMA, let alone South Park, is not where "most" Bay Area startups are, even if it has more than the most popular NYC district.

aditya 17y ago

Gowanus would be cool, except it's a bit far out of Manhattan, which is why DUMBO works. DUMBO is a desert in terms of food choices though. (Not that South Park is any better), but DUMBO is also expensive to live in. I say put all the startups in Greenpoint (cheap labor (hipsters), low rent, and mccarren park!). On a more serious note, I think it would be nice to have a dense concentration of startups in a nice part of town but I don't know how one would pull that off.

mtalantikite 17y ago
True, Gowanus isn't super close to manhattan, but I find that a lot of young developers live in Brooklyn to begin with, so not having to commute into the city is a win. If you're living in upper manhattan it might not be a great commute option, but what young person wants to live in upper manhattan? Brooklyn is way cooler ;) Greenpoint I find is even more isolated than Gowanus, simply by the fact that the only viable transportation is the G. Gowanus has the 2,3,4,5,D,M,N,R,B,Q,G and LIRR all convenient to it. The hipsters can take a 10-15 minute G ride down, while everyone else in the city or out on Long Island can still have easy options to get there. It's beginning to develop in Gowanus over the past year, with new coffee shops, artist studios, big music venues, and plenty of vacant commercial buildings being renovated.

anamax 17y ago

> We don't have a neighborhood like, say, South Park, where you have a ton of smaller startup companies concentrated into a fairly small area, or even a common district home to all the large tech companies, like the bay area has. Where is this "common district home to all of the large tech companies, like the bay area has" that you're referring to? If you're thinking of Mountain View, Palo Alto, or San Francisco, you're talking about a fairly large area that is also home to lots of other things. If you're thinking of some neighborhood in SF or Berkeley, you're missing a huge fraction of the startups in the Bay Area.

aditya 17y ago
They did say South Park and I believe that and SoMA have most of the startup action, don't they?
- anamax 17y ago
  > They did say South Park and I believe that and SoMA have most of the startup action, don't they? I doubt it. (I've never heard of "South Park" and I've been in the Bay Area for years. I thought that SP was a reference to some NY district.) SoMA may have about as many startups as NYC, but that's not enough to be "most" in the Bay Area.
  - aditya 17y ago
    http://www.nbcbayarea.com/around-town/debates/Best_Startup_Neighborhood_South_Park_vs_Professorville.html http://www.nbcbayarea.com/around-town/debates/Best_Startup_N... You should really go check South Park out, it is a pretty part of town too.
    - anamax 17y ago
      That reference says that South Park is a part of SoMA, a part that I worked in a couple of years ago. (SF is "famous" for folks inventing neighborhood names. They often do so to try to influence real estate values.) Like I said, SoMA, let alone South Park, is not where "most" Bay Area startups are, even if it has more than the most popular NYC district.