New York’s hottest club is the new NYC Council hearing rooms

Come one, come all. They’re bigger, they’re better, they’re right across the street from City Hall!

The New York City Council is unveiling a trio of new public hearing rooms at 250 Broadway, replacing the two darker, more cramped predecessors. The new rooms are open, basked in sunlight, boast sweeping views of lower Manhattan and City Hall, and are only part of what’s to be a new space entirely dedicated to the City Council’s public hearings.

“Whereas our past hearing rooms were small and probably not the best place and were kind of in the middle of offices … this space is dedicated to the public,” said Sgt. Rafael Perez, chief sergeant at arms for the New York City Council, as he led me through a tour of the space Tuesday.

Unlike the old hearing rooms, which sat about 55 people, each of the three new ones sits about 74. Additionally, there’s a large overflow room – also brightly lit and filled with rows of chairs – and a waiting area equipped with a waterbottle filling station (gasp! City Hall could never) and charging outlets.

The space is also more accessible now. Each of the hearing rooms has a built-in wheelchair ramp going up to the dais, there are more elevators, there’s a lactation room, and bathrooms – including a gender neutral restroom – are easy to find. Language interpreters will work out of the overflow room via headsets to limit cross-talk in the hearing rooms. There are even five cameras in each hearing room built into the walls, allowing City Council videographers to work from a separate control center down the hall.

The new space was a long time coming. While the plan was conceived years ago, back when Corey Johnson was speaker of the City Council, the COVID-19 pandemic put everything on hold, significantly delaying any progress. Soon, it’ll be the primary area where the New York City Council conducts public hearings, though the larger, more popular hearings will likely still be held in the City Council’s cavernous chambers at City Hall. 

The “vast majority” of renovation costs were covered by the landlord, according to a City Council spokesperson. The City Council declined to share the cost of the renovations outside a written public records request, which I submitted Wednesday.

"When New Yorkers take the time to come testify, they deserve a space that is accessible, comfortable, and worthy of their voices,” City Council Member Justin Brannan said. “Having chaired plenty of 12 and 13 hour hearings, I can say with certainty that this new space finally meets the standard New Yorkers deserve. We simply couldn't have lesser cities with nicer municipal government digs than us!"

Hearings in the new rooms are slated to begin by mid-September.