About Social Fabric NYC

Social Fabric is a constantly-evolving list of portals to connection: aggregators, event spaces, and hosts where you might tap in, find your vibe, and discover community.

It was created out of a belief that the extant advice about "things to do in NYC to make friends" is misguided. There are plenty of public event listings and meetups with no barrier to entry, but authentic connections are not made at lectures, festivals, or concerts, or events where the only binding connection is that everyone wants to make friends.

On the other hand, every once in a while, you go to an event that changes your social life forever. You exclaim: "THESE are my people!" and you walk away with connections that lead to further gathering invitations, friendships, and deeper connections.

These are what we call "portals", public or semi-public community events with an affiliated mood where you leave your past life and step through to a new world where you feel you might find your tribe.

Social Fabric NYC exists to accelerate the process of finding these portals, providing a comprehensive list of event hosts, groups, and spaces sorted by interest, along with basic information about vibe.

Generally, Social Fabric NYC listings:

Are as free or low-cost as possible
Hold recurring events
Focus on interaction and connection over listening or entertainment (e.g. minimal lecture or performance time)

Up to date as of April 2026. Think something fits on here? Email liamrosen@gmail.com and I'll check it out.

Portals to Community

Event Hosts

Sugary — "New Yorkers who seek to build meaningful connections around the joys of art, music, culture, food and supportive unity." Sugary also runs a nice events list here.

Liam's take

30s–40s techy and artsy professionals
Lamp Club — "Significant events for funky people who hate overhead lighting." New School-affiliated.
Under The Table — food/music parties
The Fifth Place — "an invitation-only, absurdist social gathering held within different venues in New York. Each time you visit The Fifth Place you're given a new set of rules by our Directors of Behavior which shape your interactions with the other guests."

Liam's take

The most New York City experience you might ever have in New York City. Participatory dinner theater where stage actors and trained clowns regularly participate alongside you. The debrief afterwards at a bar is a great touch.

Third Spaces

Brooklyn and Queens

57 (Williamsburg)

Liam's take

alt-tech folks, creative burner Brooklyn-types. People are social and open to connection and networking. Generally good vibes, though sometimes attracts some strange folk due to having been around so long. Free and paid events.
Boshi's Place (East Williamsburg) — "a space that celebrates game making as a craft"
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture (Park Slope) — founded in 1906, "a supportive community within which people learn, grow, raise families, and act to create a better, more humane world."
Brooklyn Spark (Bushwick) — community workshop and makerspace with woodworking, 3D printing, electronics, and textiles
Hex House (Williamsburg) — "an art studio and community space. Our 4,000 sq ft warehouse in East Williamsburg is a space for making, learning, celebration, & ceremony."
Interference Archive (Park Slope) — an organization dedicated to archiving, showcasing, and producing zines and other material related to social movements. Events include gatherings, archive sessions, and zine workshops.
New Women Space (Williamsburg) — "100% of programming/operations led by womxn, POC, Q/TGNC individuals + allies"
Pioneer Works (Red Hook)

Liam's take

one of the most beautiful, serene event spaces in New York City. Their lectures include delicious catered food for purchase in an extensive backyard space complete with bar, rooftop deck and a campfire! Mingling is encouraged and people are social.
Principles GI Coffee House (Gowanus) — a "rabble-rousing gathering space masquerading as a cafe" that hosts bike alleycat races, coffee crawls, and other events

Liam's take

a left-leaning space that attracts mainly intersectional SJW-type folk and allies. Really cool transparent, open values that are uncommon for a commerce-driven organization.
telos.haus (Williamsburg) — Google Calendar
ThirdSpace (East Williamsburg)
Woodbine (Ridgewood) — "a volunteer-run experimental hub in Ridgewood, Queens for developing the practices, skills, and tools needed to build autonomy."
Wonderville (Bushwick) — DIY music and gaming shows, workshops and meetups

Manhattan

Fabrik (TriBeCa and Dumbo) — hosts a lot of events run by full-time community organizers

Liam's take

This is a coworking space for professional organizers, so events here can be a mixed bag as they are often held not out of authentic desire but rather a quest for commerce, leading to some feeling like a funnel to join the organizer's membership program.
Index (Chinatown) — a coworking and community space (mostly paid events)
Maxwell (Tribeca) — the anti-Soho house. Members-only, accepts 5–15 new members per month.
Sovereign House (LES, 185 E Broadway) — Dimes Square affiliated, underground
The Explorers Club (UES, ~$20/event) — "supporting scientific expeditions of all disciplines, and uniting our members in the bonds of good fellowship for over a century"

Assorted Interests

Decentralized Science NYC

Liam's take

hipster-y, science-y, artsy folk who are interested in the limits of technological advancement meet periodically for conversation and lectures. Great place to meet interesting people interested in science and biohacking. Attracts quite a few of weirdos as well (could be good/bad depending on your appetite) and can be poorly organized. The mingling is much better than most of the talks.
Overcoming Bias NYC (Rationalist Meetups)

Liam's take

awkward, nerdy, yes, but the smartest people you will ever meet in your life.
Freegan Events — meetups, trash tours, free markets, and dumpstering food that goes towards group dinners

Liam's take

Best intro event is the trash tour, which rolls out 30 minutes after the posted time. Bring clothes you don't mind getting dirty, gloves, and a bag for spoils.
Effective Altruism NYC — for those looking to make the world a better place in the most effective way possible
Craft Club — meetups at breweries for craft beer enthusiasts
The Tea Stand — serving tea to turn strangers into friends
TWC Coffee — once-a-month meetups in cool cafés around the city with rotating groups and prompts to stoke conversation
New York Philosophy Club — Founded in 2024, philosophy-lovers discuss one topic per meetup in three half-hour sessions, rotating between groups each time to keep it fresh

Liam's take

The format is great: discussion-heavy and keeps you meeting new people every time. While some attendees are just about what you'd expect from a "philosophy club", the majority are chill folks that just want to meet other intellectually-minded people and talk about wider issues.

Reading

Quiet Reading — "free weekly events in libraries, parks, and cafes"
Reading Rhythms — read to curated playlists/live music
Yu & Me Books (Chinatown) — book launches, signings, and talks from primarily BIPOC/queer authors
Alex & Books — occasional non-fiction reading parties ($10)

Plants

Lower East Side Cactus and Succulents Society
New York Roof Deck and Roof Gardening Meetup Group (Spring/Summer only)

Liam's take

nice people who are passionate about their gardens. Meetup rotates between member outdoor rooftops and garden spaces every few weeks. Median age is about 60 but some younger folks as well. They are migrating from Meetup to Eventbrite before Spring 2025, email roofgardensofnewyork@gmail.com to stay in the loop.
farm.one events (Prospect Heights, $)

Sports and Movement

Pickup ultimate

Liam's take

ultimate players are the most welcoming and fun out of any sport!
Running
- RunNYC
- Hash House Harriers
  
  Liam's take
  
  Long-standing tradition and customs pave the way for NYC runners/drinkers and their silly antics, but don't let the drinking part fool you, they're no couch potatoes — come prepared to run fast if you want to keep up
Walking
- Brooklyn Walk Club — Thursdays
- Girls Who Walk
- The Board Walks — weekly walks for meaningful conversations
Group bike rides
- NYC Bike + Brew — Tuesdays
- Social Cycling NYC — Thursdays
Those are the two big ones, but the r/NYCBike wiki has a comprehensive list, also of bike clubs!
Group skates
- Tuesday Night Skate — a bit more hardcore than Wednesday, ~30 miles
- Wednesday Night Skate — weekly inline group skates, ~12 miles
Volleyball
- Volleydome — pickup games in Battery Park and Prospect Park

Games

Joust ($) — "upscale game nights for fun-loving people to meet in hotels, lounges, and elegant spaces all over NYC"
The New York Games — Richard Chen has built a quasi-empire bringing people together to play board and other types of games in venues around New York City.
Green Tile Social Club — Mahjong
Carreau Club (Industry City) — free pétanque tournaments every Friday
Bushwick Chess
Brooklyn Euchre Club
Puzzle People of NYC — (roughly) monthly meetups for people to connect and solve jigsaw puzzles

Backgammon

Health and Wellness

Ice Cold Club (Williamsburg) — rooftop space for cold plunges fused with occasional yoga and breathwork

Conscious(ness)

Strother School of Radical Attention — "dedicated to cultivating radical attention as a foundation of human well-being"

Liam's take

skilled facilitators host connective workshops and lectures on the topic of reclaiming and understanding attention, subject matter is intellectual, but handled with levity and without performative consciousness. Great place to connect with like-mind-ful people!
Field Meridians — nature artsy social justice kinda vibe
Lightning Society (Bushwick) — burners and conscious folk, primarily in their 30s, that host monthly potlucks and open mics.

Liam's take

this unique two story loft space and rooftop opens to the public once or twice a month for community gatherings. Very much SF Bay Area Burning Man camp energy.
StoryTell — near-weekly group storytelling and connection events (paid)
Ecstatic Dance NYC (~$30 per event)
Emily Chertow's Journaling Classes — journaling classes and workshops
Maha Rose (Carroll Gardens) — mindfulness, reiki, sound bath, ceremonies, etc.
NYC Circling and Authentic Relating WhatsApp Chat — mostly paid events
NYC Non-Violent Communication
Shadow Traffic — Burning Man-adjacent events. Very occasional — a few per year.
Brooklyn Psychedelic Society — mostly paid events, but some free
Sol Salons (women-only) — meet conscious people, connect deeply, and play
The Mother Tree — bi-weekly potlucks under a different tree each time, honoring the earth

Kink

Hit Me Up — Ethical Non-Monogamy and Kink workshops and events
Space Invaders Social Club — Hosts regular social events for "ENM, polyam, non-traditional, + curious folx". Can be a bit cliquey if you're a newcomer.
Open Social — social (non-play) events for emotionally non-monogamous peeps
Vesper — social club, requires application
Top Floor — "a curated members-only community for those embracing open relationship dynamics, kink, and sex-positive exploration"

Local Activism

Maximum New York

Liam's take

Evenhanded up-and-comers who love the city of New York and seek to propel it into the next generation of good governance
Transportation Alternatives — leading the movement for safe streets in New York City

Musicians

Gaia Music Collective — improv singing
NYC Sacred Harp — "An inclusive, non-denominational tradition of singing in four-part harmony. Most Wednesdays and some weekends."

Deeper Conversations

The Deep Dinner — monthly spirituality-focused dinner conversations. All faiths welcome. ($45)
Olio — free and paid gatherings that use art, literature, and conversation prompts to skip the small talk

Creatives

A Third Place — creative pop-up workshops around NYC ($)
Arts Crafts Interface Design (aci-d) — Events to get interface designers out into the real world, getting inspired by field trips and each other's physical work and side projects (via weekly hangs). Goes on hiatus in the summer.

Liam's take

Extremely well-run weekly meetings. The aci-d trips especially give you access to parts of New York city you never would have been otherwise.
Crafters of New York — work on crochet, knitting, or other crafty projects in a group social setting
CreativeMorning Clubs — variety of frequent (2–4 per week) meetups — not just in the morning!
D-Club — "a New Age Ugly Duckling Lounge: a growing community of people to whom art means something more than a three-letter word"
Drawing Room (Midtown & Brooklyn) — "a big, cozy living room where creativity is our common thread" ($)
Filmmaker Friday — monthly meetups for NYC-based filmmakers
Gather — "reignite child-like play and become present in wonder. Each Session is led by an artist who shares their unique crafts in intimate settings." ($)
Hack Manhattan (Midtown) — a makerspace
Kaleidoscope Gallery (Bushwick) — workshops, classes, art exhibitions and open studios
LARPA (Bushwick) — collective fostering experimental perspectives on digital culture
Olive Tree Writing Club — focused Sunday morning writing sessions with space for introductions and small group discussion at the end
RecCreate Collective (Clinton Hill) — event space for arts-inclined people to "get messy" and create ($20–$35/event)
Secret Riso Club (Bushwick) — risography/screenprinting workshops and member mixers ($)
Studio45 (Bushwick) — sister-led event and workshop space ($)
Urban Sketching Classes and Meetups with Kevin Zych
wavefield (Bushwick) — a video art educational space

Looking for more? Check out akin, a comprehensive listing of creative spaces and events in New York City.

Climate

Climate Tech New York — an extremely comprehensive aggregator of 20+ climate events a week — not just tech!
Climate Cafe NYC — a calendar of local climate events, see also their WhatsApp chat for more
Green Events Hub — yet another aggregator of climate events!
New York on Earth — yet another aggregator of climate events (scroll past the intro and news)

Tech

Aggregators

Gary's Guide — the most comprehensive tech events aggregator, updated at the beginning of every week
The Knowledge Shop | Founder Events — slightly better UI than Gary's Guide but perhaps fewer events
Supermomos — young professionals, plurality Asian. Cool concept where you gain or lose momo points for attending or flaking on RSVPs

Specific Tech Interests

NY Hardware Meetup ($10, roughly monthly)
Creative Coding NYC
Livecode.NYC — "artist collective devoted to the real-time programming technique called livecoding, and exploring its potential as a methodology of artistic expression"

Spaces

Fractal Tech (Williamsburg) — one-part coworking, one-part startup accelerator, one part event space.

Liam's take

A large warehouse space that attracts tinkerers, hackers, founders, developers, and other high-quality people. Interesting, sometimes whimsical events with a focus on building over bullshit.
Betaworks (Meatpacking) — longtime tech space hosting hackathons, talks, and panels
GUMBO (DUMBO) — a community of NYC-based indie game developers
Recurse Center (Downtown Brooklyn) — monthly "Localhost" presentations and socials. RSVP early because space is limited.

Liam's take

brilliant, accomplished, fun technologists from a variety of backgrounds who are interested in tinkering with technology for technology's sake!
South Park Commons (Noho) — NYC branch of the SF institution

Liam's take

stuffy, corporate, with some people wearing blazers. Hey, maybe that's your thing!
NYC Resistor (Downtown Brooklyn) — hacker collective and makerspace

Hosts

La Creme de la STEM — "brings together the best minds — la creme de la creme — to support female founders in STEM"
Andrew Yeung's mixers

Liam's take

The larger events attract a lot of fast-paced networking types. Somewhat bro-ey, more focused on quick LinkedIn exchanges and "speed business dating" than authentic connection, though the Arlo rooftop mixer is not to be missed: hundreds of people gathering for one of the best views in the city. The smaller events are a bit better.

Dinner Clubs

That Dinner Thing — a monthly pop-up supper club with tickets only sold in pairs
Dinner With Friends NYC ($75–$100)
Lucky Dinner Club ($75–$110)
Dishcourse — a group descends upon a different restaurant once a week for meaningful conversation

222 ($$$) — curated public experiences based on preference matching
Among Friends — "a social club for everyone"

Liam's take

Events tend to be Park Slope-based. There's no real unifying theme, so meetups turn into mostly a "get to know you" deal.
BORDERLESS — uniting people from around the world to share their local cultures through potlucks, food tours, parties, and language exchanges
For The Plot — a trio of women host creative events to meet young professional-types
Fractal — a decentralized collective of hundreds of friendly, gently ambitious nerds, artists, and conscious people living, working, creating, and building intentional community, mostly in Brooklyn.
Midnight Cafe
Parlor Social Club ($$$)
Verci — a second home for creative, ambitious tech-enabled people in NYC. See verci.com for more details.

Liam's take

vibey Gen Z founders, starters, and creatives of all types. Tight-knit, yet welcoming crew in a nice Flatiron space that has office space on one floor and lounge/kitchen on the other. Slightly filters for more of the clout-seeking type of tech folk.

Women's Social Clubs

New York Junior League — "advanc[ing] women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training"
The Camaraderie — "a women's collective that offers a world of genuine community… away from the corporate mindset, built on a foundation of radical kindness, and free from pressures and pretenses"
Girls Gone Hiking NYC — "building sisterhood on the trail. join our slow-paced day hikes accessible from NYC"

Volunteering

Food Not Bombs Bed Stuy — food giveaways to prevent waste and build community. There are also chapters in Manhattan and Harlem.
NYC Parks Volunteer Opportunities
McCarren Demonstration Garden — garden volunteering and potlucks organized by North Brooklyn Mutual Aid (Greenpoint/Williamsburg Neighbors)

Liam's take

tight-knit group of late-20s and 30s Greenpointers into gardening, climate, food, and service! Laid back fun vibes with lots of jokes being cracked.

Street Cleanup Groups

Pickup Pigeons — weekly de-trashing meetups that rotate around different neighborhoods in the city

Liam's take

social, upbeat, and supportive group that makes picking up trash fun with a gamified dry erase board to track total weight collected, kudos from neighbors, and more! Great event for socializing — once you get in the rhythm you forget you're even picking up trash.
Greenpoint Social Trash Meetup — Inspired by the Pickup Pigeons, but just for Greenpoint. Mostly locals, but all are welcome! Wednesdays, sometimes Sundays.
Community Cleanup PLG — Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Clean Bushwick Initiative — Bushwick
Litter Legion — Hells Kitchen

Volunteering Aggregators

NYC Service — the city's official volunteer site. Geared more towards organizations that offer ongoing opportunities.
New York Cares — a third-party organization aggregating volunteer opportunities. Tends to be geared more towards one-off opportunities, but not exclusively!

Less Specific Aggregators

These event listings cater to some subset of the general crowd. There's hardly a filter, rather just that you have to find a website and subscribe to find out about them. In my experience, this is actually enough to curate some very high quality people and conversations.

Nonsense NYC — "a discriminating resource for independent art, weird events, strange happenings, unique parties, and senseless culture in New York City". Newsletter-only.
Joy List — focuses on listing conscious-community events. Expect to find sound baths, yoga, breath work, circling, etc. Most events are paid. Newsletter-only.
Skint NYC — a list more for public concerts, activities, and lectures than meetups or groups. Everything is free or low cost.
Luma
- Events from your subscribed Luma calendars
- List of NYC events curated by Luma
- Luma NYC Gatherings — a list curated by super-organizer David Nebinski

General Aggregators

General aggregators have the lowest barrier to entry. In a city like New York, this often means contending with people who (either by lack of will or lack of social value) have not put effort into finding more selective events. There are always some diamonds in the rough, but the average open-invitation event here will be a grab bag.

Eventbrite
Meetup — many low barrier to entry events have been co-opted by for-profit "social" organizers who cultivate a bad vibe. Can still be a good way to find very specific interest meetups, though.
Partiful — not an aggregator per se, but if you go to a lot of private parties, you'll start getting invited to Open Invite events where people mass invite their mutuals

🧵 Social Fabric NYC

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