Freelancers in New York fight a constant battle. Do we work from home where the comfort of sweatpants, a hoodie and slippers is acceptable fashion? Or do we head out into the thicket of noisy coffee shops, hopping from one to another and crowding around power outlets like wildebeest at watering holes? For a year-and-a-half, I migrated frequently as a freelance journalist – needing both silence for writing and the ability to run phone interviews. The public library at Bryant Park has a perfect second-floor cavern to write from, the Yale Club has its dead-silent library filled with inspiring, successful hard workers. Of course, there’s NO TALKING! at either. Plus, they’re a long haul from the Lower East Side just to freelance. To balance silence and speaking, it was out to the cafes.
Starbucks on Delancey + Allen is full of noisy tourists, drunks and beggars; D’Espresso on Stanton blasts house music all day; 88 Orchard’s managers badger me to buy food and drink all day; Cake Shop is dark, angst-ridden; Schiller’s is very pleasant but $10 salads aren’t too efficient, and the massage parlor next door is too alluring; McNally-Jackson has WiFi that’s always down; Housing Works won’t let me plug in a power cord.
If you’re a freelancer like I was, you already know this battle. So let me invite you to participate in a temporary victory: The Austria Pop-Up Store. From Wed. Oct 5-Wed. Oct 19, Austria is popping up at Openhouse Gallery. At night and on weekends, there will be concerts by The Talea Ensemble, Claring Chamber Players and Dorit Chrysler, a Sissi Marathon and coffeehouse poetry. During the day, Openhouse Gallery will be the famous Café Sacher, serving espresso, coffee, tortes, strudels and deli selections served on marble tables and mugs straight from Austria. Also, and most importantly for a freelancer? Free, glorious WiFi. Come work from Austria and the recreated Sacher, hold business meetings, read on your iPad or break out an old-school newspaper.
As an added perk, the Austria Pop-Up includes a Foursquare reward. Whoever checks in the most gets two free tickets to the Oct. 19 Taste of Austria dining experience featuring Kurt Gutenbrunner, Wolfgang Ban, Edi Frauneder, Erwin Schrottner and Heidi Riegler. A $150 value for free. Check in to Austria Pop-Up Store. Open daily starting at noon. For more information about the full pop-up schedule, check out our recent post and the Austria site.
Greg Spielberg | October 3 2011
greg@openhousegallery.org
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