NY Offers Unusual Meeting Sites

<B> NY Offers Unusual Meeting Sites</B>

By Frank Rosci

Corporate groups searching the Big Apple for an unusual venue for that next meeting or special event will find a variety of out-of-the-ordinary places, ranging from colleges and museums to libraries and world famous concert halls.

One such site, the College of Insurance Conference & Meeting Center, is just three blocks north of the World Trade Center and New York's financial district. TCI is housed in a modern 10-story building and is often a choice of corporate and business groups, said Judi Levy, the Center's conference coordinator.

"Since we began renting out meeting and conference space 10 years ago, we've booked numerous corporate and other groups, including city, state and federal agencies," Levy said. "Most of our students attend evening classes, so it's a way to put the college's under-utilized space to good use. We offer basic, no-frills conferencing. There is no pool and no bar, but there is Internet access and state-of-the-art equipment."

A principal advantage of TCI's conference facilities is the price, which is about one-quarter the cost of a typical New York hotel meeting. "The price is lower because we are a college first," Levy said.

TCI offers 12 meeting rooms--10 arranged classroom-style with tables and chairs, and two classroom-style with student chairs--and an auditorium with permanent theater-style fixed seating and a side tablet writing surface at each seat. Capacities run from 12 to 80 people in the rooms, with the auditorium accommodating 128 attendees. Rental rates for rooms and the auditorium range from $105 to $420 for a half day and $180 to $685 for a full day. Weekly rates for the spaces, which are available every day, plus evenings, run from $805 to $3,072.

The full line of equipment available for rental includes several kinds of projectors, screens, TVs, VCRs and tape recorders, as well as flip charts, laser pointers and a portable public address system with microphone and podium.

Catering options include coffee breaks and a variety of luncheons, featuring everything from assorted sandwiches at $8.50 per person to box lunches and hot buffets at $14 per person.

Among New York's other unanticipated meeting sites is Carnegie Hall. Planners can use two rooms for corporate events, including the legendary main hall and the 268-seat recital hall. Contiguous space in the form of the Rohatyn Room on the first tier level, adjacent to the Rose Museum, was built in 1991, said Bret Silver, event sales manager. Capacity for a sit-down dinner is 300, with receptions accommodating up to 400 attendees. The Travelers Group Cafe offers a newly expanded light fare menu.

At Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, meeting planners will find several flexible spaces, accommodating from 50 to 3,800 attendees, said Steve Grober, marketing manager for concert halls. Auditoriums include Avery Fisher Hall, with 2,728 seats, and Alice Tully Hall, with 1,001 seats. Other rental spaces include the Grand Promenade, Plaza Lobby, Charles Dana Lounge, Chorus Room or Green Room of Avery Fisher Hall and the Lobby and Green Room of Alice Tully Hall.

Rental rates for two of these ancillary spaces are $13,985 for a sit-down dinner for 600 people in the Grand Promenade and $6,750 for a sit-down dinner for 250 in the Lobby.

Another of the city's not-commonly-thought-of meeting and conferences places is the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a popular New York landmark designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Capacities for a sit- down function range from 25 to 250 attendees, and there is space for 2,500 people for a reception. Possible ven-ues include the spiral rotunda, holding 1,500 people for a reception, or 250 for dinner, the sculpture terrace overlooking Central Park, the 250-seat theater and several elegant galleries.

Madison Square Garden also is available for rental to corporate groups, said Joseph Reno, account executive, subscription & group sales. Space includes the 20,000-seat, 23,000-sq.-ft. arena; the newly constructed 5,585-seat multi-use theater; and the 36,000-sq.-ft. Exposition Center. Additional areas for meetings--Theater Lobby, Club Bar & Grill, Play By Play, Garden Terrace, Green Room, Press Room and Suite 200--accommodate from 40 to 2,650 people.

Other unexpected meeting venues include the New York Public Library, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art.

The New York Public Library, a Beaux Arts masterpiece completed in 1911, offers four meeting rooms, said marketing manager Reggie Grayson. The Celeste Bartos Forum accommodates from 250 to 500 people and the Trustees Room from 80 to 125 attendees. The library's other two spaces, Astor Hall, which accommodates from 200 to 750, and McGraw Rotunda, which holds from 100 to 300 for various events and functions, are public spaces and can be used only when the library is closed.

Fees are $20,000 for the Celeste Bartos Forum, $17,500 for Astor Hall, $12,500 for McGraw Rotunda and $7,500 for the Trustees Room and include room usage, operational expenses and a $2,500 tax-deductible membership fee. There is also an administrative fee of 10 percent of the total cost.

Meeting space also is available at the newly completed Science, Industry and Business Library, where the Kravis Electronic Training Center and Conference Center is equipped with ISDN lines, advanced audiovisual equipment and 30 workstations. The conference center includes two meeting rooms and can accommodate up to 75 people.

Within the American Museum of Natural History, planners will find more than 40 exhibition halls available for meetings, conferences, receptions and dinners, said Stephanie J. Draus, assistant for event and conference services.

Memorable and dramatic possibilities include receptions under the open jaws of the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs, dinner among a herd of elephants in the Hall of African Mammals and dinner in the Hall of Ocean Life under a 94-foot blue whale. Capacities for meetings and conferences are 996 in the Auditorium/Imax Theater, 299 in the Henry Kaufmann Theater, 200 in the Orientation Center, 154 in the Harold F. Linder Theater, 80 in the People Center and 75 in various classrooms. Event capacities are up to 1,000 guests for sit-down dinners, up to 800 for sit-down dinners with dancing or entertainment, and up to 3,000 for receptions. Fees are set according to need and type of event, Draus said.

While planners considering the Museum of Modern Art will have to contend with the limited availability of space, they will discover space suitable for meetings and business presentations. Three months of lead time is required to book Titus Theaters I and II. Capacities are 400 for a sit-down function and 2,000 for a reception.