Suggestions for Venues?

Before deciding to start XTC-NYC, I asked Duncan Pierce (one of the London XTC organisers) what he considered to be one of the most important things to do in setting up such a group. His answer was something along the lines of 'Pick a good venue, because once you've settled on somewhere it's very hard to move'.

To try and learn from this advice, I think that for the first 5 events / 3 months we should try 5 different venues, and I'm seeking ideas on this. Based again on my observations of the London XTC, I think important attributes are:

• Centrally located. I think saying 'between Houston and 59th, 2nd and 8th aves' is reasonable.
• Ideally a separate space for ~ 20 people; failing that enough space that some people are guaranteed a seat, and quiet enough that people can have a conversation without shouting at each other.
  
• Good beer. Hang on a moment, this is the US isn't it? (Sorry couldn't resist. Yes I know there are loads of great micro-brews available in this town!) OK, anywhere with at least something decent on tap.
• Preferably food. I know not everyone wants to eat out but since most people will be coming straight from work, some people will want to eat.

Is this too much to hope for in Manhattan? My hope is 'no', at least not on a Tuesday evening.

Anyway, please add comments with your thoughts on whether these are sufficient qualities to look for in a venue, and even better please suggest some venues of your own! If we don't find somewhere else in time, I propose Vol de Nuit (West 4th / 6th Ave) as our next port of call.

And of course, I expect this will be a hot subject of conversation at the first event at the Heartland Brewery - see you there!

Why XTC-NYC?

The original eXtreme Tuesday Club is a weekly gathering of eXtreme Programming practitioners that has taken place in London for 8 years or so. It has provided a great community for like-minded software developers, managers and coaches to get together in a very informal way to discuss the ups and downs of using XP and other agile Software Development methods on a wide variety of projects in all sorts of organisations.

I (Mike Roberts) got a lot out of London's XTC when I lived there. Even though I wasn't a 'regular' I still found it a great place to pop along to every now and then when I was in the mood. I miss the informality / beer / random banter that it provided so I've decided to kick off a similar event here in New York City. I'm not sure if the US / UK cultures are aligned enough that it will work, but you don't know if you don't try.

XTC-NYC - Jan 16 2007

The inaugural New York City eXtreme Tuesday will be at the Heartland Brewery, Union Square. Please add a comment if you plan to come!

If you want to find us and don't know what any of us look like then (a) look for the likely bunch of geeks and ask 'are you extreme?' or (b) look for me (Mike Roberts) - I look a bit like this.

• Jan 16 2007 from 6.30pm
• Heartland Brewery, 35 Union Square West, 10003
  
• Map
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Extreme Tuesday - New York Edition

Welcome to the XTC-NYC blog!

This blog will be hosting announcements for all the New York eXtreme Tuesday meetups. The idea is someone will announce the next meetup, and then people can comment to say whether they will be coming, and any possible discussions they might be interested in having.