What is the physical space like?
397 Bridge Street
Our Brooklyn hub is open to current batches with key fobs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, during the batches running from June 26th to September 15th.
To access the space you’ll have two options: If you’re planning to visit for a day, use a day pass key, which you’ll pick up and return at the end of the day. To enter the space in the morning, you’ll buzz us on the 4th floor. If you plan to be in the hub for more than a day or two, you can request a longer term key from Sydney. Long-term keys give you 24/7 access to the space, and must be returned at the end of your time in the hub. Please don't lose them! They’re expensive to replace. If you do lose your key, let Sydney know immediately so she can deactivate it.
We don't have assigned seats. You're welcome to work wherever you like throughout the day and the duration of your batch. We have a standing desk available, and if you need a standing desk or another type of set-up because of health reasons, please let us know and we will accommodate you.
If you'd like to give a talk or host a seminar, we recommend you use Hopper or Sammet. Sammet is equipped with a video conferencing system, so that Recursers can join in on a video call and participate in your event from anywhere in the world.
We have:
- Two floors to work and hang out on, with lots of tables and couch seating
- A pen plotter, 3D printers, and a hardware room full of things like hand tools, wires, soldering irons, a surprising number of Raspberry Pis, and more
- The David Albert Vintage Electronics Lab, which includes a NeXTStation Turbo Color (with a copy of WorldWideWeb.app!), an Olivetti, an Apple IIe, a Mac Color Classic, and many other vintage machines
- Pairing stations
- A 1 Gbps symmetric dedicated fiber connection circuit and a backup cable connection
- A library containing several hundreds of programming books and books written by Recursers
- A kitchen with a microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker, fridges, and espresso machine; a private space for pumping or nursing with a fridge; changing tables in our restrooms; a library of board games; cubbies for your stuff if you need to store things over multiple days
COVID and illness
Masks and tests are available in our space to everyone. They aren't mandatory. RC faculty will be testing daily, and some will be masked. We will also have a way to mark whether you're comfortable being in close conversation with someone who isn't masked, or if you prefer to chat/pair double-masked.
We have MERV-13 filters installed in our HVAC system, and fans around the space to encourage air flow. We'll be limiting capacity so the space is never packed, and will keep the windows open as much as the weather allows.
If you feel sick, or test positive for COVID-19, do not come into the space. If you start feeling sick while you're at 397 Bridge, leave. If you're coughing or sneezing, one of us will gently ask you to head home until you're feeling better. Please don't return to the space until you're no longer experiencing symptoms, and, if you tested positive for COVID-19, until you test negative.
Donating things to RC
If you have something you'd like to donate to RC (books, electronics, equipment, art), please ask first. You can email us at faculty@recurse.com. If we think it would work well and be a positive addition to the space, we'll happily accept it. If not, you may advertise it on Community - New York to give away to another Recurser, but please do not leave it here.
More about the space
- There is a printer on the 4th floor near the kitchen that you are welcome to use. It is available over Bonjour/Zeroconf. The printer shows up as HP OfficeJet Pro 9010 Series. If you have trouble with network printing, there is also a USB cable attached to the printer that you can plug into directly.
- There are computer monitors, headphones, and peripherials available on the 5th floor for general use. Please remember to return them when you're done using them.
- Naps are fine. Sleepovers are not. We have beanbags and couches throughout the space, and you're welcome to take a quick nap at any time. Do not sleep overnight in the space. Let us know if you're having trouble finding housing, and we'll do what we can to help.
To see what's going on at RC, or to host an event yourself, check out our calendar. If you're interested in hosting an event but don't know how, check out the event hosting guide on our wiki.
If you host an event, or are here late at night or after an event and the space is messy, please help us out by moving tables and chairs back to their original places, by bagging up any garbage, by making sure there aren't dishes in the sink, running the dishwasher for the night, and clearing any food or pizza boxes that are lying about.
A few rooms (Shannon, Dijkstra, and one phone room) and desks on the 5th floor are reserved for administrative and ops work for RC employees.
Please don’t plan to receive mail at 397 Bridge. If you need something shipped to you for a project you’re working on, check in with Mai or Sydney.
The RC network
RC has Provider Independent (PI) address space and an Autonomous System Number (ASN) from ARIN, the regional internet registry for North America. We have a small block of IPv4 addresses, and over 309 septillion IPv6 addresses.
The RC network is an educational resource for you to use. Please familiarize yourself with RC’s Acceptable Use Policy. If you can’t access the AUP, you may need to authenticate with GitHub first.
Guests
The short answer to "Can I bring a guest?" is no.
Our goal is to create a safe environment that is conducive to learning. Having unfamiliar people coming and going makes that harder.
You'll occasionally see non-Recursers in the space (e.g. maintenance workers sent by our landlord, employees of our partner companies, etc.). We do our best to announce guests ahead of time, make sure they're here only as long as necessary, and make sure they know our social rules to minimize disruption. We will make exceptions, but only under unusual circumstances. We consider folks who haven't yet started their RC batches to be guests in the space; please don't invite them to the space outside of +1-friendly events.
If you're a current Recurser you are welcome to give your immediate family or significant others a peek at the space, so long as this happens during off-hours, is brief, and doesn't disrupt anyone's work. Please accompany your guest at all times.
This might sound heavy handed, but it's not meant to be. If you have any questions about the policy, please let us know.
Alumni
We don’t yet know how alumni access will work while the hub is open between June 26th and September 15th, and we’ll update this section as soon as we do! It will depend on demand, as we’ll be prioritizing people currently in retreats.
Family
If you are in one of the current batches and would like to give your immediate family or significant other a peek at our space, you may do so during off-hours. Please keep the visit brief, be conscious of the other people in the space, and accompany your guest at all times.
+1-friendly events
We occasionally host evening events that Recursers are allowed to bring guests to (i.e., everyone is allowed to bring a guest as a +1). We'll note specifically on event announcements whenever events are open to guests.
When you bring guests to +1-friendly events, please make sure they wear name tags and are familiar with our social rules. Please stay with them during the event, and either see them out of the building before you leave or leave with them.
Exception for RC employees' families
We have an exception to our guest policy for RC employees, who are allowed to bring their immediate families (including significant others and children) to RC even during events that are not otherwise open to guests. Attending evening events on a regular basis is part of many RC employees' jobs, and this exception makes it a little easier for RC employees with families to attend.
Family-friendly policies
These policies are intended to make RC more accessible to parents and caregivers of kids of all ages. If you are a current or prospective Recurser, and curious about how your family responsibilities might fit in with your time at RC, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Zulip, our internal chat system, also has a parenting stream, so feel free to join, participate in discussion, and reach out to other parents in the RC community.
Events
We are committed to hosting social events that better fit into a family schedule. Specifically:
- For all official RC events, even if the event isn’t +1 friendly you are welcome to bring your child/children, and to bring another trusted adult as well to help with child care at the event.
- We have added more social events to our regular retreat schedule that are either earlier in the evening or on weekends, such as daytime picnics, trips to museums, and early evening art nights.
Children at RC
RC is typically closed to non-Recursers, except for specific events. However, if you have a child, you are welcome to bring them in to RC during the daytime under the following circumstances:
- On school closure days (e.g. holidays, snow days)
- If your infant is under 6 months old
We expect you to stay with your child while they’re at RC, and to take full responsibility for looking after them, as we aren’t able to have childcare providers on staff for Recursers or childcare on the premises. Please avoid the areas designated as quiet/silent work areas, and feel free to use Lovelace, the lactation room on the 5th floor, if you need. Please let us know in advance to be expecting you.