Brooklyn's 3rd Ward "Artist" Co-op

This co-operative is a kind of anchor/center for craft and art development, meeting people, coffee drinking etc.

It's a 20,000 s.f., four story, industrial building at 195 Morgan Avenue, in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

I found out about it a few weeks ago at my next door neighbor's. We were all eating dinner, talking about what we do, I mentioned "bicycle facilities systems integration," and someone mentioned how her daughter (working in NYC and living in Brooklyn) was thinking of joining a co-op in her neighborhood, not only because there were drawing classes, but because one of the membership benefits is that you get a bike of your own throughout the period of your membership.

I thought that was interesting, so I looked it up. It's the 3rd Ward Co-op. They have a variety of facilities (wood and metal studio, jewelry studio, photography studios, digital media lab, co-working facility), a meeting place (free coffee for members), 180+ classes, and "a free custom-fit bike."

There are different levels of membership; the most expensive provides free class access and costs about as much as one term's tuition at a local public college ($4380/year, paid in monthly installments), but it's a great way to get the classes you need to be great at woodworking, digital media, etc.