Reminder | August 2023

Hello

This is just a reminder that tonight we have a Manhattan Modelers Meeting starting at 7 or 7:30 at  Lavelle's at 45-15 Broadway in Astoria who said we could use his basement space for our meeting tonight. It has tables, chairs,a bathroom, etcit is located right by the entry to the 46 St station on the R/M (E at night) line. It is an old-school neighborhood bar, so they serve no food. He does allow food to be brought in. So I will bring some snacks and maybe we could order a pizza.

I will try to stream to our Discord into the "General Voice Channel" for those who are too far away to make it.

We will discuss possible upcoming things, events as well as the bylaws. If you can, maybe consider bringing a small project you are working on and we can discuss it.

Again, please get your votes in on our Bylaws if you have not already done so.

Thank you,

Andy Estep

FINALIZED PROPOSED BY-LAWS AND A PREVIEW OF FUTURE POTENTIAL

Vote for By-Laws of the Manhattan Modelers

All of the suggested changes to the by-laws proposed by the membership were good ones and have been added to the proposed by-laws, so we now are ready to put them up for adoption. The updated version can be found here: https://humancity.org/by-laws-of-the-manhattan-modelers/. In general, the changes involved adding language allowing for telephonic meetings if desired, adding a mechanism for moving forward on business issues if a quorum has not been obtained after 3 attempts, and including the assurance that meeting attendance was not a mandatory thing. Feel free to review them again if desired. You can voice your “Yea” or “Nay” by going to https://forms.gle/psZcivUpMhQviUv16 and casting your vote. Voting will be open for a period of one week and we encourage you all to vote in order to enable us to move on to more interesting endeavors, namely:

1. Without by-laws, we cannot obtain NMRA Special Interest Group (“SIG”) status. By having SIG status, we can gain NMRA recognition and support and with that, a bit more street cred that will help us in future efforts. The by-laws and SIG status are NOT intended to supplant or be a substitute for any existing NMRA group, but rather to be an “extra perk” for existing NMRA members, a gathering place for non-NMRA members and a vehicle that will allow us to deal as an actual entity. You do not have to be an NMRA member in order to be a member of any NMRA-recognized SIG, so there is no downside on that issue.
2. Over the course of the past few years we have been confronting and exploring the issue of what we could do to have a dedicated space in the city that would permit us to have any necessary business meetings, non-business get-togethers, and even possibly a permanent layout. Finding a meeting space in New York City is not as simple as it used to be. Our inquiries at city facilities, such as library meeting rooms, has made us realize that the days of such spaces being free to the public have long since passed. A one-time use of a library branch meeting room currently costs $140. Other options brought with them a similar result.
3. There is however one option: The city is currently making space available in the various vacant buildings on Governor’s Island as part of their development program, and the space can be had at no cost, if the applicant can pass the City’s application requirements. We anticipate that one of the requirements would be obtaining suitable insurance coverage, and that we might be able to obtain affordable coverage as a part of NMRA, if not under its umbrella, hence another reason for seeking SIG status. At the very least, it would make obtaining insurance easier than if we had no actual structure we could point to. For those of you who have not been to Governor’s Island, the space available is in the former officer’s/enlisted men’s housing. The utilities cost would be very low if at all, it is provided by the city parks dept.
4. One of the requirements to having a dedicated clubhouse space at Governor’s Island would be that we be open to the public and have a minimal staff of one person on hand at a minimum of one weekend day a week. While this would be a challenge initially, if we grow the membership through community outreach, the task would be less of a challenge as the membership grew.
5. The benefits of having our own clubhouse space for business meetings and informal get-togethers is pretty obvious – but there’s more: We have been offered two existing layouts on the condition that we obtain a suitable space for them. One is a completed (and very nicely done) model of the Brooklyn Bridge in N scale built by a modeler who lived in Manhattan. The other is the 2-rail O scale modular demonstration layout that Atlas O Scale used to take to train shows to exhibit it measures 10 by 14 feet. Having either -- or optimally both -- would provide a great jump-start to any exhibition/display we could provide if we attain city approval for a Governor’s Island location, and would be a great “community outreach” draw to find more modelers in the area.

This may or may not ultimately be attainable, but the benefit of having a dedicated clubhouse-type space is more than enough to make the possibility merit consideration. Having by-laws and becoming an NMRA-recognized SIG would be the first steps in that direction, if it proves feasible. At worse, having by-laws and SIG status would help us to grow under and within the NMRA framework, without further formalities. The clubhouse prospects are exciting, although not effortless. In the meantime, obtaining SIG status can only help grow our core group…. So please take the time to vote for adoption and if you have any questions as to the extent of the efforts that have already gone in to this exploration, contact Andy Estep in our Discord channel. With that said, how about raising some steam!?

-Dan Free

Vote for By-Laws of the Manhattan Modelers

Monday August 14th 

Manhattan Modelers August Meeting

Lavelle’s Bar at 45-15 Broadway in Astoria, Queens near the 46 St Station on the R/M (E at Night) Subway line.

October 5th-8th

NMRA NER regional convention the Cannonball Express Uniondale, NY  

Put on by the Sunrise Trail Division of the NMRA on Long Island. Several Manhattan Modeler members will be giving clinics and presentations as well as layout tours for this convention.

https://ner-conventions.org/cannonball-express/htt

Saturday, November 4th

NYSME/METCA Swap meet

St. Joseph’s School 120 Hoboken Rd. East Rutherford, NJ 07073

Accessible near the Jane St stop on the 163 NJT bus from the Port Authority. NYSME also will have their HO and O scale layouts open for this event

Please consider sharing this newletter with your favorite modelers.