When I started volunteering with NYC Mesh, we had no home. Volunteers bear the responsibility of holding stock. This was less of an issue, when antennas, switches, routers, and tools were a minimum. When the mesh was small.
As the mesh grew, so did its footprint. Large hubs with large antennas. Datacenters with racks of equipment. Tools required to install and maintain. Demand exceeded what is desirable in a NYC apartment, especially on a volunteer labor force.
Luckily, we had a sponsor, Grand Street Guild, who graciously let us squat in an unused, abandoned classroom, destined for destruction. We made use of this space for a few years, and got used to what it offered. A space to meet, work on projects, a central stockroom for mesh-everything. The sad day came when the demolition crew gave a months notice.
Soon we found ourselves nearby, in the basement of Blue Stockings Bookstore. Effort took place to convert a damp, dark, and moldy basement into what felt like a clubhouse. I spent a great deal of time automating it, providing remote visibility, and characterizing the utility it provided to the volunteer labor force. Here we pay rent, and wanted to understand what we were getting in return. Again, we were forced to leave, as the bookstore went out of business. Equipment into storage. Homeless again.
Since we lost our hack-aligned basement space, the search has been on for somewhere to call home. New York City real estate is a monster of options, but this space is starting to check all the right boxes.
A large open floor on the 11th level of 11 Hanover Square, with roof access & sight lines to SN1 & SN3 for direct datacenter connectivity.
Already seeing the little internet of things coming from the walls, wanting to be enabled.
Hopefully all goes well, and we soon have a place to call home again
Take a look at how we connect to everything -> https://map.nycmesh.net/