> too reliant on non-revenue based sources (grants/partnerships) to keep the doors open
I looked into joining NYCResistor a while back and the membership fee was quite high (I don't remember it and I don't want to give wrong info). It was the kind of fee that would exclude a lot of people who this kind of space was meant to benefit and undercut the ethos of hacker/makerspaces generally. On the other hand, rent in downtown Brooklyn is really high. It sounds like this space was using grant funding to keep individual fees down and thereby promote accessibility. That's really cool. I am sad to see that they're closing, but this might be better for the community than multiplying membership fee rates or other "revenue" to stay open. It's a hard call and I don't envy them.
NYCResistor does look to drive engagement by discounting membership to $75 a month if you teach 2 classes a year.
Given the location, and looking at pricing of comparable west coast makerspaces, this pricing model seems pretty fair.
Without daily active users a makerspace or hackerspace will usually stop growing in membership, leaving it in a lurch where rent is going up, tools aren't getting upgraded, and the space is becoming less viable by the month :c
> NYCResistor does look to drive engagement by discounting membership to $75 a month if you teach 2 classes a year.
That seems like a good idea until you've been through some of the courses I've seen people run at hacker spaces. You need a committee to vet the courses and fire instructors that are terrible.
I looked into joining NYCResistor a while back and the membership fee was quite high (I don't remember it and I don't want to give wrong info). It was the kind of fee that would exclude a lot of people who this kind of space was meant to benefit and undercut the ethos of hacker/makerspaces generally. On the other hand, rent in downtown Brooklyn is really high. It sounds like this space was using grant funding to keep individual fees down and thereby promote accessibility. That's really cool. I am sad to see that they're closing, but this might be better for the community than multiplying membership fee rates or other "revenue" to stay open. It's a hard call and I don't envy them.