Coworking Space Gives Edge

On a recent, unusually cool Spring afternoon, the energy of up-and-coming Crown Heights working men fills the Crown Heights Young Entrepreneurs (CHYE) Workspace.

Two business partners finalize the plans for their new start-up on a bank of couches near the entrance, while the clack of fingers of others fills the room. Near the back, a writer and designer stand, cups of coffee in hand, discussing potential partnership opportunities.

Located at the corner of Empire Blvd and Brooklyn Ave in the heart of Crown Heights, the workspace offers an aesthetic environment and a professional edge to members of the Crown Heights community.

According to Rabbi Yehoshua Werde, Director of CHYE, the workspace will create an affordable and beautiful place for members to tap into “the synergy of the community’s many talents while fostering a start-up culture in Crown Heights.”

Shaya Schtroks was one of several early members of the CHYE Worskpace. Though the real estate agency he helps run now has its own office, Schtroks looks back fondly to the time the workspace was his base of operations.

“To a guy just starting to work, having a space like this was an unbelievable relief.” Shtrocks says. “I brought clients here for meetings and found like minded people to bounce ideas off of. CHYE was my home.”

Yosef Moya, a grant writer that helps mosdos with funding opportunities on a project by project basis, has found the ambiance of the workspace revolutionary in his work.

Calling the space a “tremendous resource,” Moya notes the shared workspace offers “more than just the technical expertise of your peers. It has a certain energy and sense of community.”

For those interested in learning more about the workspace, as well as other programs offered by CHYE: http://www.chye.info/