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Next NY Quarterly business meeting is January 18, 1pm, at Brooklyn Meeting
NYC Quakers

Committee Space Reservation Guidelines

The policies, guidelines, and roles and responsibilities of a Quaker committee hosting an event in a New York Quarterly Meeting space.

Committee Space Reservation Policies and Guidelines 

Our spaces exist to support worship, build community, and enable our witness in the world. The Quarterly Meeting maintains them for use by our monthly meetings and their committees. We also rent space for weddings, memorial services, and other community and/or personal celebrations and to F/friends.  

Quaker Committees may reserve space for meetings and events including but not limited to book groups, film screenings, committee meetings, weddings, memorials, and other events at no cost. Committees may reserve space directly using this form, no prior approval from your monthly or the quarterly meeting is required. All reservations and space bookings are conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. You can check for the availability of a space using the following links. These calendars and space availability are subject to change: 

Please see below for more on our policies, guidelines, and roles and responsibilities of the committee hosting an event. 

Space Reservation Information, Policies, and Guidelines 

  • If your event requires any advanced preparations in or of the space, such as cooking, set up, or decorating, you must reserve additional time for those preparations. These are shared spaces that are utilized by many groups throughout the week. In order to accommodate everyone’s needs as best as possible, we ask that you do not assume a space is available but rather reserve it in advance. 
  • Food and drinks are only permitted in the following rooms: 15 Rutherford Common Room, 15 Rutherford Room One, 110 Schermerhorn Social Room, 110 Schermerhorn Kitchen, and 110 Schermerhorn Basement Conference Room. 
  • Filming and photography are permitted in all spaces except during worship of any kind including but not limited to meeting for worship, meeting for worship with a concern for business, and worship sharing sessions. 
  • Committees are responsible for the safe behavior of their guests. Committees are expected to monitor entry of visitors to the space and their behavior while in the space.  
  • The following are prohibited in all spaces:
    • Alcohol of any kind or illegal drugs
    • Smoking
    • Open flames
    • Weapons of any kind
  • Committees are responsible for clean-up of the spaces they use, and returning them to the condition in which they are found. This includes returning any materials, boxes, or items that a group may have moved for their event back to their original location. 

What does it mean for an event to be under the care of a committee? 

  • When an event or meeting is organized under the care of a committee, representatives from that committee are responsible for all preparation, logistics, and clean up. This includes any event in which an external organization is using NYQM spaces under the care of a committee. 
  • If an external organization is seeking committee care, they must contact the relevant committee. NYQM staff cannot facilitate committee care for external organizations. Generally, the process of committee care requires bringing an event to a committee meeting for review and approval. When discerning approval of an event under their care, the committee must consider if they have members or volunteers who are able to sufficiently staff and support the event. Further information on committee responsibilities for events under their care can be found below.  
  • Committees seeking ongoing space arrangements with external organizations should bring the matter to their Monthly Meeting for business. 

Committee responsibilities for events under their care:

  • A committee representative is responsible for booking the space by using this form. If a committee is sponsoring an event with an outside organization, we ask that all communications with NYQM staff regarding the space booking and any related logistics go through a single representative from the committee. 
  • There must be one committee member on-site at all times for any event under their care. Committees must also ensure that there are a sufficient number of members or volunteers on-site to manage the event. It is general practice to have one volunteer per 20 people. This includes events with external organizations. 
  • Committees are responsible for the safe behavior of their guests, and are expected to monitor entry of visitors to the space and their behavior while in the space. This includes having a representative at the door to allow people into the building. Often several concurrent events or meetings will be held in our spaces. It is the responsibility of the sponsoring committee to welcome their attendees into the building, and direct them to the appropriate space or meeting location. 
  • NYQM provides regular training and documentation to support the use of AV equipment and related technology. The use of AV equipment or related technology for an event or meeting is the responsibility of the committee. Any committee or organization under the care of a committee that intends to use the AV equipment or related technology for their events or meetings must have at least one committee member who is trained to use the technology. A trained committee member or meeting volunteer must be on-site to run the technology. NYQM staff are not available to support AV or technology needs for events.