A block from Madison Square Park, the App State New York Loft is located among residential buildings on 24th Street. The Loft serves as a place for students, faculty and alumni to stay during their time in New York.
“The usage of the Loft can be academic or professional,” said Jenny Cancro, the New York Loft coordinator and budget analyst. “It can be anything, like you can go just because you want to visit and shop or you can go and study there.”
Cancro said different departments will lead trips to New York such as the Department of Theatre and Dance going to see a Broadway performance or the Walker College of Business going to visit the stock exchange.
The Loft is a shared space featuring two rooms with 10 bunks in each, a private room that sleeps four people, four communal bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a shared desk space.
“When I visited over the summer I was there with three alumni that were, you know, older gentlemen that had come to watch the New York Mets,” Cancro said. “I sat there and listened to them. They were from all across the country getting back together to go see a game together which really had nothing to do with academics, but it was so interesting that they chose the Loft.”
Cancro said there is always a faculty member living in the Loft during the fall and spring semesters. This faculty member typically has a lot of knowledge about New York and can tell visitors the best routes and transportation to get to a certain place in the city.
“I vividly remember lying in my bed my very first night there and seeing the clock on the tower of the MetLife building across Park and thinking that I really had found my spot in New York,” said Nanci Tolbert-Nance, an App State alumna and retired English teacher.
Tolbert-Nance said the Loft was a good option as it is not as expensive as hotels which can average $504 a night in New York.
“I stayed at App’s NYC loft in April 2022 while visiting the city for a class with the Department of Art,” said Samantha Oleschuk, a senior art and visual culture major. “Required for Art Management majors, the trip presents the opportunity for us to experience the museums and cultural institutions of NYC together. If not for the Loft, this trip would be much more difficult and more expensive.”
The Loft offers beds specifically for students who are completing an internship during a semester and offers those beds at a discounted rate, according to Cancro said. Faculty-led student groups also receive a discounted rate of $35 per person compared to the affiliate price of $50 a night.
Reservations for the Loft are available by emailing nyloft@appstate.edu and begin on the first business day of the month. Faculty-led trips can be reserved up to 15 months in advance, affiliates can reserve six months in advance and people with no affiliation to App State can reserve three months in advance.
The Loft offers beds specifically for students who are completing an internship during a semester and offers those beds at a discounted rate, Cancro said. Faculty-led student groups also receive a discounted rate of $35 per person compared to the affiliate price of $50 a night.
Tolbert-Nance said the advice she would give to people who may use the Loft is to schedule as far in advance as possible, be considerate of the Loft being a shared space, follow the rules and don’t lose the keys.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the loft is located one block from Madison Square Garden. This has been corrected in the article.
