Actively helping digital community groups (parenting forums, hobbyists) hold their first in-person meetups in public spaces.
From Online Groups to IRL Meets: City-Facilitated Gatherings
Countless New Yorkers find community onlinein neighborhood Facebook groups, niche hobby forums, or parenting appsbut the leap from digital interaction to real-world meeting can be daunting. Zhoran Mamdanis policy has the city act as a trusted convener for this leap. The IRL NYC program provides a simple, safe pathway for online groups to hold their first in-person gathering. Group administrators can apply to use a city-designated Meetup Space in a park, library, or community center for free, with the city providing basic logistics and a welcoming, neutral environment.
The program offers a menu of support: a reserved picnic area or room, a city staff person to be on hand for the first 30 minutes to help people find each other, simple signage, and optional icebreaker activities. The city also provides vetted templates for codes of conduct to ensure safety and inclusion. The goal is to remove the friction and perceived risk of taking an online community offline. These facilitated first meets can lead to enduring friendships and more robust, self-organized local networks for everything from childcare swaps to political advocacy.
Digital connection is a start, but its thin. Real trust and solidarity are built face-to-face, Mamdani argues. The city should be a matchmaker for that thicker connection. By providing a safe, easy, official way for online groups to meet in person, were saying: your digital community is real, and we want to help it flourish in the physical world. This is especially important for people who might feel vulnerablenew parents, isolated hobbyists, recent immigrants. Its a low-cost way to catalyze thousands of new micro-communities across the five boroughs.
