NYC Resistor

Canuck Hackers Hacking Aboot

You may remember Canadia as the red terror of the north. Whose imperialistic aspirations once lead them to invade the United States without any evidence or accusation of wrong doing. But today, I’m going to write not about the unbridled threat to our freedoms that these loyalists bring to the table… but about the awesome hack space that’s starting to really get rolling in Toronto. hacklab.to is housed in the kensington area of toronto above a bar. Seth Hardy and Leigh Honeywell have been working tirelessly for months to see this place get off the ground and from the looks of it they are very nearly close to success. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing more from these guys. Especially if they start stock piling on siege weapons and molson ice for an impending invasion of the colonies.

Read more about them at their site: http://hacklab.to/

Today, the core members of the NYC Resistor group put down a good chunk of money on a space in Downtown Brooklyn. It turns out it was the first space that Dave found! - Link

It will be a space for monthly public meetups and much hacking.

It started with George, Peter and I at Chaos Computer Club Cologne. We had just been to the Chaos Communications Camp and were on a tour of hacker spaces in Europe when we decided that NYC needed a place for hackers to meet and share ideas and make things. We sat down and put together a good chunk of infrastructure and now, five months later, we have formed a strong core group and found a space and we start moving in later this month at 397 Bridge Street.

The last month has been quiet on the site while the core group has been busy behind the scenes developing infrastructure, starting an LLC to make it happen legally, and doing lots of planning.

Now that we have a space, we have a lot more hard work ahead of us, but there is no going back now! Stay tuned!

Pat and I checked out another space today. It’s in a loft building in the Northeast corner of DUMBO, near (actually, surrounded by) the big power transfer station. The F train is a few blocks away and the A/C a walkable distance. The rent is $2300/month with a 1 or 2 year lease. The owner listed the size as 1100sf, so it’s probably more like 1000 in real life. The space is divided into 3 windowed rooms (2 are about 9×15, the third is about 12×10) plus a center hall/room (10×10) where we could have lockers or rolling storage units. The views are pretty good. There is a large private bathroom and a second small sink. The layout is not ideal for having big classes but could be good if several people wanted to work independently and had different music tastes, for example.

Overall I’d say that this is a nice space, but probably not the best for our needs. Option #1 has similar space, a more flexible layout, and much better train access. Gowanus has similar train access but more space and other benefits for less money.

More photos after the jump…

Read more

I looked at an L-shaped loft today on the 5th floor of a commercial building on Bridge St. between Willoughby and Fulton Mall in downtown Brooklyn. The rent is $2200/month with a 1 year lease and no fee. It is 900 sf (my measurements) with high ceilings and good light. The location is extremely convenient to trains and also happens to be close to a good hardware store, a Radio Shack, and Polytechnic University. The surrounding buildings are mostly commercial and low-rent retail, although this is a gentrifying area and some luxury condos are being built up the street. Rent includes heat 9-5 M-F but nothing else. There is a small bathroom down the hall which is shared with 2 other tenants, but there’s no shower or kitchenette. Since this is the first space we’ve really seen, I can’t say how it stacks up in terms of value, but it certainly seems like a viable option based on our criteria. More photos after the jump…

Read more