Corporations Holding Garden Meetings In The Bronx
<B> Corporations Holding Garden Meetings In The Bronx</B>
By Frank Rosci
Corporate meeting and incentive planners seeking an alternative to Big Apple venues might want to consider the lush greenery of the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.
Just 25 minutes from Manhattan and regarded as one of the world's great public gardens, the site's flexible spaces offer groups both privacy and high levels of personal service, said Kate Andersen, catering sales manager for Abigail Kirsch, which manages meeting bookings and catering for the Botanical Garden.
According to Andersen, the Garden in the past year has hosted such corporate groups as Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Clairol, Cornell University, Goldman Sachs, Janssen Pharmaceutica, NYNEX and Prudential Securities. "For these and other groups we specialize in one-day meetings, as well as two- and three-day meetings without overnight accommodations, where groups commute," she said.
The site offers three large conference facilities. The Garden Terrace Room, which reopened last year, offers a 3,900 square-foot tented terrace and 4,704 square-foot ballroom that can hold up to 400 attendees. The 12,500 square-foot Enid A. Haupt Conservatory tent, which also reopened after a renovation, seats 2,000 theater-style and is available for rental from April to November. The historic Snuff Mill can hold up to 225.
Abigail Kirsch also handles groups for the 83-year-old Tappan Hill mansion in Tarrytown, N.Y., a 45-minute drive from Manhattan. Overlooking the Hudson River, the site offers a variety of meeting spaces, including the 4,835 square-foot Pavilion Room, which holds up to 440 attendees; the 3,200 square-foot glass-enclosed Pavilion Promenade, with space for 300; the 2,780 square-foot River Room, accommodating up to 275; and the Skyline Suite, which can be broken out to two rooms of 1,945 square feet and 1,100 square feet, holding 80 and 90 people, respectively. Daily rates are about $85 per person.
Tappan Hill's on-site meetings staff has worked with Apple Computers, AT&T, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Ford Motor Co., IBM, Mutual of New York, The New York Times, Union Carbide and Xerox, Andersen said.