I live at the corner of Waverly Ave and Flushing Ave, and for a long time there were no good wifi cafes near here. But all that has changed since Ted And Honey just opened up 4 blocks from my house, at the corner of Carrollton.
This has potential since the place has wifi, and is fairly empty. Most of the wifi spots I go to are over crowded and suffer from 2 huge problems:
1.) it is too crowded so there are no seats
2.) it is too crowded so the wifi sucks because too many people are using it
As a point of comparison, there is Think Coffee, on Mercer Street in Manhattan, and also Atlas Cafe in Williamsburg. At Think Coffee, it is almost impossible to find a place to sit down, and at Atlas Cafe, the wifi is frequently terrible.
So, one of the nice things about being on vacation is that I have time to stop and explore things. I was walking down Flushing Ave and saw a sign outside Building 92 that there was a cafe inside. I went inside and, to my surprise, it turned out that the cafe was up on the 4th floor. The location is weird for several reasons. First of all, this is inside the grounds of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which normally feels sort of walled off and forbidding. Second of all, there is no obvious sign, from the outside, that there is a cafe inside, other than the small hand drawn sign that I saw (which looks temporary). Third of all, its on the 4th floor!
I got some food and and some fruit juice and considered the place. Here are the pros and cons:
1.) it is on the 4th floor so it offers views. These are not your typical aesthetic skyline New York views, these are views of Brooklyn’s industrial port landscape. Personally, I like this, though I can imagine not everyone might.
2.) it is mostly empty, so it is a great place to work
3.) for me, it is 4 blocks away, so if I need to get out of the house so I can concentrate (I often do) this place would be perfect.
Up till now, when I want to go a wifi cafe, I felt like had to go far way: Williamsburg or Park Slope or Manhattan. But this place is practically next door.
It is true that there were a few other places near here trying to offer wifi. There was Connecticut Muffin on Myrtle Ave, however, I only went there twice and both times the wifi was not working. I recall that I asked the staff to reboot the router, as that normally straightens things out, but they were terrified to do so. So I hate that place and don’t want to go back.
Ted and Honey had 2 potential weaknesses:
One was the music. There was a high percentage of classic 60s rock in the music they play. I personally like classic 60s rock, so that isn’t a deal breaker for me, but I know a lot of my friends hate that kind of music. A cafe communicates a lot about who belongs there by the music they play. At Atlas Cafe, the music is wildly diverse, going from Johnny Cash to Mozart to hard-core industrial noise in the space of 20 minutes. The music at Atlas says “You need to be open minded to be here.” Nowadays, classic 60s rock is a conservative choice, so it communicates “We are playing it safe and not taking risks and let’s just all chill with some pleasant, non-controversial music.”
The other potential weakness is that since it is empty there is no social scene. But I feel like there are an abundance of cafes you can go to if you want to be surrounded by other interesting people. There is a shortage of cafes that let you just get work done.
I am curious if this place can survive in its odd location. Apparently the Brooklyn Naval Yard is now offering tours, and I assume this cafe is meant to cater to those tours. I am puzzled if that is actually enough to keep the place going. There is also the possibility that everyone (like me) who lives in this area and is desperate for a good local wifi cafe will discover the place.
I really hope this place survives. It’s got outdoor terraces with tables which would be a dreamy place to sit and work once it gets warmer.
Views of the industrial landscape:
