espace

Booked the space for a private event and I couldn’t be more pleased! The staff is warm, friendly, and professional, executing every request almost before I have a chance to make it. The space is sleek and contemporary, and beautifully appointed with lighting and AV equipment such that there’s no need to supplement in any way. Plus being all inclusive (catering, furnishing, tech) it’s one of the most cost effective spaces I found for an event of our size (200 – 300 panel presentation and networking event). I couldn’t recommend them more!

It’s a very raw event space, so the look of the event has more to do with the people renting it than the venue. The space is pretty far from any trains, and in the winter, that area is windy and cool as f*ck. However, I have been to 3 events here over the years and they were all VERY classy and tastefully done events, so I would say that the space is great for private events that want to create something sexy.

I came here for a wine tasting event and the doormen stopped me to enter in the «right way» and were a bit snooty (minus one), but once I stepped in everything changed. The space is huge to allow for some pretty large events. Since we were there for a wine tasting, we had the coat check in the lobby area and then entered the main ballroom which had great uplighting and a nice modern décor.
This space can certainly accommodate groups into the hundreds, and the catering was on point for the event (tons of round tables filled and restocked with food constantly).
The wait staff inside were extremely friendly, despite the increasingly drunk crowds, and really helped out with asks on things that were running low.
Although it’s pretty far on the west side, I think it’s a great rental space that could help any group who is hosting a large event in Manhattan.

Rspved for an event and ended up coming late but before the event ended and told I can’t even enter or even grab a freebie bag. Security guard was a dick unnecessarily.

Came here for an event a few days ago. The cocktail space was intimate and great for networking — the staff were good at making sure that finger food and drinks were going around. The main space was very spacious and the lighting gave it a nice and unique touch. This specific event was set up in a way where we have to go up and try various food and drinks from each table — it was great being that the options were unlimited.
The downside though was how limited the bathroom space was as well as the distance of the location from the subway … if you’re in heels either catch a cab or come with a «driver».

I ended up going back somewhat unwillingly to this dump of a place for a Christmas party. Nothing has improved. It is just a boring big room and management is so strict, it has the employees spooked that work there.
Management does its best to get people out of the room at the exact time it is contracted to. If they are providing drinks, the taps are shut off a half hour ahead of time just to make sure.

This is a great event space!
I came here for a non profit awards ceremony for Latino Youth called Circle of Achievers last Thursday. The organization has been having this event for numerous years and the last several at this location. The entrance is spacious and has 2 bars. This is ideal for a networking event. The main space is lovely with great emotional lighting and a stage /​dance floor for presentations. The food is very food. I have never had more tender chicken at an event space and the deserts are amazing! The servers were prompt and friendly, most of them smiling.
My only criticism are the lack of bathrooms. There seems to only 2 bathrooms for a space that can hold 200+ people.

Raise The Macallan Event Review
In the past when I thought about Scotch I would always envision men of a certain age sitting around in a smokey room with their cigars talking about the good old days. If we were talking about tequila, vodka or even rum then I could easily see myself but not so much with Scotch. That was until I went to my first Scotch tasting and found out that I actually love it and then I knew I was in trouble!
I immediately started looking for local events so I could continue to learn more about Scotch. Lucky for me I found Raise The Macallan. Raise The Macallan is an event which is held in multiple cities throughout the United States which allows single malt whisky enthusiasts to experience The Macallan and learn a thing or two about what makes The Macallan «a cut above the rest».
The event began with a cocktail reception serving Fine Oak 10 Year and passed hors d’oeuvres. The Scotch is served three ways:
1) Neat
2) On the rocks
3) Scotch & Ginger
If you are lucky enough to score VIP passes, then you get unlimited glasses of the Sherry Oak 12 Year, early entrance to the cocktail hour and up-​close seats in the main tasting room!
There were several stations throughout the reception space where one can learn more about The Macallan brand. My favorite was the aroma station where you can see just how much your nose knows! If nosing Scotch isn’t your thing then you can take pictures at the photo both or window shop the items which are found in The Macallan Boutique. If my fairy Scotch-​father would grant me just one wish, I would ask for the Ice Ball Maker. I have been wanting this ever since my first Macallan Scotch tasting.
After the cocktail hour, we gathered in the main hall for the tasting. There were iPads on each of the tables so you could partake in quizzes and learn interesting facts about The Macallan brand. We tasted drams of Sherry Oak and Fine Oak 10, 12, 17 and 18 while Sir Charlie Whitfield – The Macallan Brand Ambassador – took us on an awesome journey around the world.
I found the event to be entertaining and very informative. I learned five new things about The Macallan Highland Single Malt Whiskies:
The casks and stills make the difference – Macallan spends more on their casks then any other single malt whisky.2
The Sherry Oak casks are 106 years old before they are filled with Macallan spirit – this means Macallan 12 is 118 years old!
The Oak species determines the color of the spirit – Spanish (Sherry Oak) has wider grain and American (Fine Oak) is tighter and has less tannin.
In Shanghai, some put green tea in their Scotch which makes it taste sweeter – it is pretty good, you should try it.
The Macallan 17 (Fine Oak) is my second favorite!
I was pleased to see the event attracted just as many women as men! I was also happy to learn that Macallan has female brand ambassadors. Two of the ladies at my table were Scotch aficionados who were under the age of 35! So now if someone asks me what I envision when I think of Scotch Whisky it is no longer the smokey room with old men but rather a sexy setting with ladies of all ages enjoying a glass of Scotch.

*Raise the Macallan Tasting Event Revew*
Décor: ⁴⁄₅
–Exterior and interior décor is esthetically pleasing with the tall windows and clean interior
–Speakers are mediocre
–Venue itself is spacious, comfortable capacity is probably in the 200s.
Service: ⁴⁄₅
–The finger food was surprisingly great. The steak was made medium well, juicy and tender.
–The servers were prompt and friendly, most of them smiling

Right now I FEEL like giving them just one star due to bad management, but honestly, I love going to private parties here. It is a great space. However, what happens when they have a «misunderstanding» with a party promoter regarding details of the event? They engage in finger pointing behavior that is «penny wise, pound foolish». Keeping the guest happy is so very far down on their list of priorities that is it invisible.
Guests: Temper your expectations — that is, take promises by anyone involved in promotion with a huge grain of salt. You will be much more likely to enjoy yourself.
Promoters: Don’t sign the contract until you read it very, very thoroughly. Have all your staff carry a highlighted copy of the contract with them at the event. They may need it at a moments notice to ensure results.
—
Update December 2013. A friend of mine promotes events, and he tells me that NYC venues routinely play games with the «first hours specials» that they encourage promoters to advertise. So it is likely, alas, that there was not a misunderstanding here at all. Nonetheless, it is a wonderful venue.

Go with friends and you should have a good time.
Go by yourself hoping to meet other people… good luck looking elsewhere.
Bar are just makeshift tables with a table cloth over it and some bottles on top.
Space is huge.
Place is far from subways, unless your drive, catch a cab or happen to catch the M42 bus… which rarely comes at night.

So I went there for a gala but from the read of other reviews and the appearance obviously it can be used for multiple events and is. They have wedding packages which is good, that ‘s immediately what I thought of after I walked in saw the ballroom main space. It’s a fine and very desirable sized venue because its more than enough with out being over the top– but still all over gives an intimate equality. When I say intimate thats not code word for small, very modern but kind of glamourous feel while still nice. Bar and reception area out side of mainroom had a mini elevated stage and sizable seating and schmoozing area. Then the main room had attentive and competent waitstaff– there was also another bigger stage there (it was an an award ceremony/​with a few perfromances. The doormen were quite affable — I loved thier uniforms (kind of lize a german nazi & a poter or a military all in 1) and presence. nice touch.

I went here for halloween night and of course once we got there, they had to do the typical, «make everyone wait outside to make it look popular» when it was snowing. Super Lame, although it was fun to watch all the slutted out girls shiver in their skimpy costumes. If its snowing outside and there is a coat check, and you are dressed as a sluttly slut, wear a down coat, girls. As I was waiting in line, I got a taste of the typical clientele when a jersey guy (costume?) asked if this was the line to E-​space. He pronounced it e-​space. I laughed in his face, then realizing he was serious, I replied «yes.»
To my biggest disappointment, my date was the only one dressed as Patrick Bateman with a real axe, a bespoke pinstripe suit and raincoat at the actual Espace in new york shitty. I died a litlte inside when one girl asked if he was Dexter. One guy got it but he was the bartender so he doesnt count.
The typical girl was the jersey girl and fat. All the guys looked like the situation and uglier, even though th situation is still pretty damn ugly.
I saw 2 girls wipe out, one which actually fell on her face and stiill managed to drop her entire full drink miraculously on her head. Now that is some cirque du soleil shiz. One of the many «Lurkers» swooped up on her immediately, tell tale sign she is DTF.
There were a few lone girl rangers looking for a one night stand which kind of creeped me out, especially on a friday night on halloween. I wonder, why she doesn’t have friends to party with? I saw one girl try to double team which I am pretty sure was a male gay couple.
All in all, it was an interesting night but I have had better at some hole in the wall bar throwing peanuts at the TV. My american psycho fantasy has died a little after coming to Espace, but it’s okay. I just won’t com back.

My husband and I were at Espace for the new year’s eve party. While we managed to have fun by keeping a positive attitude (therefore the 2 stars above is a result of our own efforts), here’s the story of how we were screwed by SKY GROUP people who I learnt is the organizer of the event:
bought our VIP table tickets from someone on craigslist whose plans had changed at the last minute
in the mail, we received not only the tickets but the original confirmation email which clearly specified a table number and a table group code
upon arrival at the venue, we were asked the name under which the reservation was made under
we gave them the name of the girl we bought it from (it took us a while to remember it, but we did), but they couldn’t find her name in the list
we saw that there were table numbers similar to the one we had in the email printout on tables, went around looking for table 204, but there was no such table! There was a 203, and 205 as far as I remember, but not 204!
we still kept our cool and complied with getting only the general admission benefits (besides the table and waiter service, our tickets were supposed to come with food platter and a bottle of champagne)
at the end of the night, Daniel from Sky Group gave us his email address, and told us to email him, and that he would see what he could do. If not a refund, he said he could arrange for us to get into a nightclub with free drinks one night. As frequent nightlifers, we thought it would be a good compensation.
I emailed him the next day, and again a week later.
When he finally got back 3 weeks later (with an «I was abroad» excuse), both he and Brooke from the same Sky group kindly let me know that there was nothing they could do because I bought the tickets on craigslist!
Come on! Everybody buys and sells on craigslist, it’s where you find tickets at the last minute, when they are sold out on the event website (which was the case for us as well). On the confirmation email printout we showed them (and later sent a copy of it by email), it shows the transaction date, order ID, price, and everything. If they don’t have the means of checking whether it’s legitimate or not, then they are not professional event planners! And we weren’t even insistent on a refund, all we asked for was some sort of a compensation that would acknowledge their screw-​up and save us from feeling like a loser here!
I don’t wanna make it too long a review, so not much space left to talk about Espace itself. But I agree with the previous Unilocaler Lucy L. The new year’s eve décor was also like a wedding which was a total turnoff.
From now on, I’m totally calling the venues to check if Sky Group is the organizer. If yes, it’s a big NO NOOO for me!!!

It’s a giant space so you need enough people in it otherwise it feels very empty. The service was fine but I absolutely felt like I was at a wedding (which I hate feeling) and the dance floor is in the center, again, wedding style.
They had comfy low lounge-​like couches that I dug though.

beautiful building. awkward «space».
it felt like i was at a hotel banquet room and there just happened to be a wooden tiled dance floor. it was one of the most awkward moments i had in partying history. i do NOT want to bump and grind and drop it like it is hot on the dance floor… as people are sitting at banquet tables and sipping on champagne. what is this a wedding reception!!!
i came here one two occasions. once, with a friend who had a beau that lived in the Atelier condos. we went to the «ballroom-​like» club downstairs and sipped on our cocktails made by bartenders standing behind tall tables covered with black table clothes. so… no real bar table with the bottles of alcohol in the shadows. not at all. again, it felt like it was a temporary set up.
second time i was here, it was for a Halloween party. as Javier M. has mentioned, the mood of the party depends on who’s hosting. Korean promoters cut us a deal outside to get us in. the drinks flowed, people watched (yeah, the weird banquet tables again!!!), danced our socks off to a fantastic DJ and enjoyed ourselves. not too shabby… still awkward, though! =)

I too came for a highly promoted Halloween party.
They moved Capitale’s Annual Masquerade Ball to their sister space, which happens to be Espace.
I was wary of a change of venue, but my fears were unfounded.
The space itself is bare, and it is definitely more of a venue than a club.
And for our purposes that night, it served us well!
The wide open space allowed plenty of room to pack in the insane amount of people who were attending.
The place was very full, but not to the point where you can’t walk across the dance floor which is often the case at a lot of different clubs.
Instead of a bar, they had booze, folding tables and bartenders. Good variety of alcohol and plenty of top shelf liquor. Drinks were about $ 12 each, which for Hell’s Kitchen on Halloween really wasn’t too bad.
The staff managed to keep everything running smoothly despite the fact that the place was populated with rowdy, costumed drunks.
And the DJ was about as good as it gets. Every single song he played was awesome. My friends and I danced the night away and I’d definitely return again next year.

To quote (and paraphrase) Patrick Bateman on American Psycho:
«I’m on the verge of tears by the time we arrive at Espace
since I’m positive we will find a long queue, but we don’t,
the relief washes over me in an awesome wave»
Located on the base of the super modern Atelier Condominiums, Espace is a minimalistic ballroom-​styled party venue, that works best for special events, fashion shows, and themed parties like the Halloween one we attended yesterday. Unlike it’s American Psycho counterpart, this Espace does not convey a brutalist chic décor, but rather, it sticks to the Atelier building’s feel for ultra sleek and subdued lighting, framed with neon nuances here and there; it was the perfect place for a Halloween party to take place, and we had a hell of a time!
I was disappointed to see that the whole low cushioned seating area had been removed on the far right of the ball space, leaving it disgracefully empty when it could have nurtured the many, many, frisky couples that I’m sure would have wanted to scrutinize the virtues of many a sexy costumed nurse, cop, roman gladiator, and devils and angels alike. I’m not speaking for myself, of course, I’m merely making a suggestive observation.
Since the mood and feel can vary depending on who is hosting the party, I can’t fairly comment on type of alcohol or other details, but I can identify potential and the overall feel that the venue conveys, even when gutted out of it’s artificial charms (the sexy cushioned lounging), the natural aura of Espace is inviting for dancing, drinking and making merry. So when your next corporate invitation announces this place as the venue, don’t cringe at the address and come; your friendly Unilocalerhood aesthete vouches for the Espace.

I’m pretty sure we crashed someone’s leftover prom here.
To begin the night, we were being cheap and therefore had to walk through the shit pit that is Times Square where not only tourists gawked at my bright purple nightgown turned dress with a UO vest (DIY layering, ppl!) but multiple cars felt the need to stop and shout something out the window. After making it through that, we still had 3 more avenues to go. walked through construction sites, trashbag piles and scurrying rats till we finally came to an oddly glowing blue space at the end of the dark deserted street.
There were some people corralled into a small square smoking area, ha. Plus two bouncers, two door girls, four promoters, and various other people. obviously needed to try to control the mobs fighting to gain entrance (i.e. our group of six). I think they were charging cover but we were here with my DJ friend.
Once inside, we found ourselves on a carpeted floor surrounding a platform wood dance floor. All around the room were tables decorated with tablecloths, candles, and balloons. The ‘bars’ were long banquet tables with bottles on them. Red bull vodkas were $ 16 each, served in small plastic cups. classy! Surprisingly, the people there were pretty hot and lots of good (read: slutty) dancing. A genuine hoe-​down.
We only stayed for 30 awesome minutes of pure fun, and I was sad that I forgot to take a balloon party favor with me on the way out.

It’s pretty (pretty BLAH at the same time) and space is kinda all over the place. I know I complain about venues being too small, but this place had no size issues whatsoever. So I’m going to complain about how awkwardly BIG it is. The décor while innovative and fresh, yet the space is suggestive of lots of «e m p t y space», umm, is that why it’s named espace? I feel like I’m at a high school ball, so open & vulnerable, lighting could be a bit darker…
Maybe i would have more fun if the music was actually decent… and it was so NOT. WTFrick mate. i don’t even know how to classify. not exactly a club, but too big to be considered a lounge… i don’t know… the placed simply made me feel estranged. This place would be very cool to host events … but I would never go dancing here.