WeWork Fulton Center

This is kind of a hip, young scene for freelancers. Personally, I don’t see myself using this space. Here are some things that I think are worth mentioning about this particular WeWork location:
Location: Decent location. I think it’s in a semi-​centralized place to even meet with people.
Space: It seems to vary from floor to floor, but I wish some rooms had a little more privacy. I get that they want to create a sense of community and nearly all walls are made with glass you can write on. At the same time, if you’re doing a small presentation, anybody walking by your room can stop and watch you — so that can feel a little invasive. The furniture is kind of a rustic modern since they do have tables that look to be made of all wood. For the most part, the furniture is comfortable.
Noise: This is kind of a double-​edged sword. The music can really lend this ultra hip vibe and I found myself enjoying some of the music, however, if you’re on a conference call, that background noise DOES get picked up whether it’s someone behind/​near you, or the music from the hallway. The best bet for handling a conference call is probably to be in one of the rooms with the door closed. Even so, rarely will you find this place to be quiet.
Wifi: In the 3 days I was there, connected to the WeWork Guest network, only once did I experience a problem. Luckily, it wasn’t during a crucial moment, but as any wifi outage/​blockage can be, it was annoying for about an hour. Otherwise, I had no trouble with the speeds.
Amenities: Free coffee and beer (if you’re over 21). On the 22^nd floor, there are bowls of candy and if you want to be healthy, they have bananas in the breakroom. I like that besides the choice of filtered water, there’s also the fruit-​infused water. It’s refreshing.
Bathrooms: They’re clean for the most part. I thought I was seeing things when I saw Bose speakers in the ceiling of each stall. Fancy, WeWork, very fancy. I also like that they had mouthwash available in the bathrooms. It comes out from a pump, but there are small disposable cups for you to use with it.
For the most part, the space is kept clean as there are janitors who frequently empty the trash.
It’s certainly an interesting business model and I’d be curious to see what other WeWork locations, not only in NY, but also in other cities, are like.

I have been here for a few times for their parties and Demo Days. I really love the space and can imagine working there, particularly with their expensive furniture, and not to mention stunning views. I was looking out of the 22^nd Floor and you can see the most breathtaking sunset view of the World Financial Center area with the skyscrapers right there, front and center. Other than that, I think it’s a great hub that brings together start-​ups, entrepreneurs and other alike-​minds together for great collaborations and happenings!

So after about 4 – 5 months of working from this WeWork, I decided to cancel my membership. Some of it was due to my situation (traveling more than I expected) but a big part of me leaving was due to the wifi performance.
I’m a remote employee for a Bay Area software company and I do multiple video chats per day. I really need decent wifi performance to do my job. Video chats don’t necessarily require a ton of bandwidth but it does require consistent bandwidth. I had numerous issues where my video chats would cut off. I complained numerous times and while they seemed responsive (responded to my ticket immediately, said they would «work on it», or they would suggest there’s something wrong with my computer or configuration — which there was certainly not), I never got the sense they were interested in addressing the root cause of the issue. All I asked for was some transparency as to what they were going to do to fix the internet issues and never got it.
I really wanted to like WeWork. Everyone was super friendly. It really is a good community of people. When I had to travel to a city that had a WeWork space, it was great being able to use it even for a few hours. There aren’t many other coworking spaces with that sort of multi-​city presence.
But in the end, if I can’t do my job and WeWork wasn’t going to take my issues seriously, it forces me to look elsewhere. I wasn’t the only one with network issues. There were other folks in the space who were similarly dependent on frequent video chats and very frustrated.

I’ve been a guest on several occasions and have been an official user of one of the conference rooms. Great concept and amazing that Silicon Valley is discovering NYC (including Brooklyn). I would suggest that WeWorks makes an effort to invite real NYC residents to become members and not just focus on the young transient tech world.
If i’m ever in need of a shared workspace WeWorks would be high on my list.