When faced with piles of assignments and concurrent deadlines, you’ll most likely be able to find me in William D. Walsh Family Library. As someone who struggles to sit down and do work in my room without getting distracted, the library has always been a go-to for me. I love the atmosphere of Fordham’s libraries, with their beautiful architecture and how, on most floors, all you can hear is the sound of keyboards clacking. However, after spending so much time in Walsh Library, you become bored with studying in the same spot. When it starts to feel repetitive, I find myself wandering the city in search of a fresh corner to settle into.
Over the past year-and-a-half living in New York City, I’ve compiled an ongoing list of my favorite places to get work done. I love venturing out to Manhattan to find new coffee shops and libraries, but there are a few elements my dream study environment must have. First, it must be relatively quiet, or quiet enough that I can put on headphones without hearing noise bleed through. Second, the chairs and couches must be comfortable enough to sit in for a couple of hours. Lastly, the place should have reliable WiFi and outlets.
One of the coolest cafes I’ve ever been to is Bibliotheque. It is located in SoHo, alongside a plethora of other stores and shops. During the day, it operates as a bookstore and cafe with a wide selection of books scattered on the walls, but at night, it transforms into a wine bar. I love the atmosphere in this café, and it’s always filled with people working on their laptops. The only caveat is the limited seating and the noise, which comes from both the loud music and overlapping conversations. If you want to study here, I would recommend from experience arriving early to secure one of the comfortable spots and bringing headphones if you get easily distracted, as I do.
An unconventional study spot I enjoy visiting is hotel lounges, my favorite one so far being citizenM. This hotel chain welcomes locals to their lounges, which also serve as a space for hotel guests to relax after a long flight and for people looking to study or work from home. An added bonus is that you can order food or a drink from their counter. My favorite thing about this spot is the eclectic architecture and the vast number of couches where you can comfortably work on assignments.
At my core, though, I am a library enthusiast. I love the New York Public Library (the Schwarzman building), located near Bryant Park on 42nd Street. I typically go to the Rose Reading Room, which features long, shared tables with beautiful lamps and numerous outlets (yay!). The only caveat to the NYPL is that you sadly cannot bring coffee inside, understandably so, to prevent damage to the historic building.
Although the NYPL is definitely a close second, the Jefferson Public Library is my all time favorite. The outside of the building genuinely resembles a castle, and the inside is beautiful, with numerous locations to study, from couch-like seats with attached desks to long communal desks. I love studying here so much because I feel like I have entered a medieval realm where I have access to hundreds of books and could study all day. A word of warning, though: make sure to arrive early. I always arrive at least 10 minutes before opening, and there is already a line of people waiting to get in.
Maybe what I’m really searching for, whether in a crowded café or a hushed reading room, isn’t just a place to finish an assignment but a small pocket of belonging for a couple of hours. Sitting among strangers, each absorbed in their own task, makes the city feel a little less relentless and a little more manageable.
