“A few small companies and startups, some service providers, and freelancers and consultants. You can always find a great diversity of people and industries represented at the Hive – we’re not just one thing.”

“Dylan Goelz of Roadify works out of Hive at 55 and says he finds the coworking environment to be “a big plus.” He says his team’s focus has benefited from having other work-minded people around, and they’ve even worked with a design team a few seats away.”

“Many of the 100 active members belong to small companies. Hive is home to techies, but there are lawyers, accountants, graphic designers and journalists, too. Members often solicit help from one another.”

“This kind of cross-pollination has occurred at Hive at 55, a co-working space at 55 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan, where a Web designer can work alongside an app developer, an accountant, a lawyer or a freelance writer.”

“NYCEDC also provides affordable workspaces for entrepreneurs and startups at Hive at 55 and Varick Street Incubator.”

“Everybody’s networking and trying to help each other out,” Hive Member Paige Rosenberg says. “Opportunities arise from just being in the room.”

“The Hive at 55, on Broad Street in downtown Manhattan, provides a co-working space for mobile workers. Sixty media companies are now in or moving to the area, which was once home to the city’s newspapers.”

“Many of New York’s army of freelancers and employees who work remotely only need a Wi-Fi connection and a fix of caffeine to get productive each day. But an increasing number miss the buzz and creativity of an office setting, and find their own home, neighborhood library or nearby café too much of a distraction. That’s where so-called co-working facilities come in.”

“Next on the list of things to do is choosing a location to work. Many freelancers work from home, but sometimes this can be confining (especially if you live in an apartment), but there are some alternatives.
Shared working spaces, such as Hive at 55 in New York, are becoming increasingly popular because they provide business essentials such as WiFi, a fax machine, a printer, copier machines, as well as conference rooms and human interaction.”

“It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Hive at 55, a new workspace on Broad Street for freelancers. Mayor Bloomberg stopped by last week to see the cutting-edge facility and to praise both the entrepreneurial spirit it fosters and the freelance industry it supports. Then on Wednesday night the space hosted a launch party for one of its tenant’s products, a point-of-sale software program for retailers.”

“But since December, Hive at 55, an initiative of the Alliance for Downtown New York, has provided a lower Manhattan gathering place for industry entrepreneurs, consultants and freelancers. On Wednesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg dropped by to offer his support for the innovative space.”

“Mayor Michael Bloomberg toured the Hive at 55, a center for freelancers in media and technology, in Downtown Manhattan on Wednesday.
Bloomberg called the Hive a big success, and that more are being planned for other industries.”

“For many freelancers in the media and technology industries, the high costs of office space and modern equipment are big roadblocks to launching a business,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The Hive at 55 – a modern, fully-outfitted office center for freelancers at steeply discounted rates – is part of our broader effort to help start-ups in the City overcome those obstacles”

“Working at your dining room table or the local coffee shop can be lonely. The Hive at 55 meets many of those needs and is becoming a community as well as a workspace for freelancers..”

“Our biggest selling point is as a community,” says Daria Siegel, director of Hive at 55 in New York. Since it opened in December, more than 50 people have become regular members.”

“Here are Sarah’s eight reasons why a coworking space is better than working from home or the neighborhood café..”

“The Hive at 55 is the newest facility in the city offering shared office space–and, at 4,000 square feet, one of the biggest. It’s intended to nurture new media companies.”

“Although the Internet gives freelancers the ability to work in a cafe, in a library or in their pajamas, some people miss the buzz of the office.”

“Forgoing my $1.75 ‘rent’ for a toasted bagel to sit at a cafe and write, I accepted an invitation last week to visit the hive at 55, one of the many shared workspaces for freelancers that have popped up during our recession hangover. Fancy digs. Lounge. Conference room. Thirteen-story view of downtown Manhattan. I could get used to this.”

“True to its pioneering spirit, NYITC at 55 Broad Street recently opened The Hive at 55, a 4,000 square foot, fully outfitted coworking facility that provides affordable and flexible workspace and support to small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.”

“Many unemployed architects pick up freelance projects as they wait for signs of economic revival, while others take the opportunity to start their own small practices. However, working from one’s apartment poses many challenges and obstacles to productivity, and renting office space in NYC can be prohibitively expensive. But now there is an affordable alternative.”

“From an individual freelancer’s perspective this arrangement is a welcome relief from the social and creative isolation (and occasional aggravation) caused by working at home. From a start-up perspective, shared office space is more private than the free-for-all of the local coffee shop.”

“Among the many changes wrought by the economic downturn has been a shift in the role of the office as a workspace. Aside from layoffs, there’s been a move by employers away from full-time, in-office employment. All of this has meant a rise not only in home-based businesses, but also in coworking facilities that provide office-like support for entrepreneurs without an office-like situation.”

“The Hive was originally envisioned as a Mecca for new media workers, but it is open to anyone ‘who has outgrown their kitchen table,’ Berger said.”

“The Alliance for Downtown New York, in conjunction with the New York City Economic Development Corporation , 55 Broad Street and the Rudin family, have launched the Hive at 55, a new coworking facility in Lower Manhattan.”

“The Hive is an initiative of the Downtown Alliance and was established as part of the city’s efforts to expand entrepreneurship and facilitate the growth of industry sectors, such as new media.”

“The Alliance for Downtown New York and the NYC Economic Development Corp. launched Hive at 55, a 4k-SF co-working facility at 55 Broad St.”

“The Alliance for Downtown New York, in conjunction with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, 55 Broad Street and the Rudin family, will launch the Hive at 55, a new coworking facility in Lower Manhattan, on December 1, 2009.”

“A shared workspace for freelancers, entrepreneurs and small business owners is taking shape at 55 Broad St.”

“…Now you can have it both ways. This month, the Downtown Alliance is opening the Hive at 55, a place where freelancers, entrepreneurs and small-business owners—or folks thinking about starting a business or taking on freelance work—can work independently but together, a day or a month at a time.”