Our last stop on the Silverline office tour is our headquarters in NYC. I sat down with several of our Silverline NYC employees to talk about what makes having our headquarters in NYC so amazing!
What brought you to NYC?
Kori Deitz: I’ve lived in New Jersey all my life. When I started working at Silverline, I was still living at home and commuting in and out every day. The city offers so many opportunities and I was able to move to Manhattan about a year and a half later.
What’s unique about NYC and its residents?
Sarah Risen-Robertson: There’s the old Frank Sinatra song (“New York, New York”) that goes “If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere” and I think that speaks to how tough you have to be to live in NYC. New York is a place where people can test how far they can go and how well they can do — and they’re competing against the best of the best. I think you have to be not only ambitious but also optimistic to live in New York. On the flip side of that optimism, New Yorkers are also deeply practical and sometimes cynical. What this boils down to is that New York isn’t for everyone, but when you love it, you really love it!
If someone had only 24 hours in NYC, what would you recommend they see and where would you recommend they dine?
Skylar Gurman: Definitely go see the Highline/Hudson yards area and Central Park if possible. Prince Street Pizza is a go-to for pizza and Black Seed for bagels because you can’t come to NYC and not eat a bagel.
If a meeting is canceled, what are five things someone should try to check out in the office?
Chelsea A. Peterson: A meeting is canceled?! Miracle! Kidding, of course. I’d say the best things to check out in the office in the event of a meeting cancellation, or just in general, would be:
- A visit to the snack bar (we have every type of Oreo you can imagine and some healthy stuff, too, if you’re into that)
- View the various Lego artwork we have around the office (done by a professional Lego artist — yes, that’s a real thing!)
- Play a rigorous (or not so rigorous, up to you) round of ping pong
- Refresh yourself with a quick nap or quiet meditation in the Wellness Room
- Or pop out of the office and enjoy the greenery with a walk through Union Square Park! If it’s a longer meeting that’s been canceled, I’d grab a seat at the park for some sunshine and great people watching!
What is the best food within walking distance of the office?
Jiordan Castle: It’s so difficult to choose! I love everything at Daily Provisions (especially the crullers; have you had the crullers?), The Nugget Spot (worth a little bit of a trek... particularly for the Cap’n Crunk nuggets), and Tom Colicchio’s restaurant Craft (the scallops!). There’s also sometimes the all-vegan Green Gorilla Kitchen truck in Union Square, which has a fantastic “banana burger” (i.e., plantain slabs in place of a bun).
If I need coffee, where should I go?
Sarah: I’m a huge coffee aficionado and the options around Union Square don’t disappoint:
- Irving Farm has great locally roasted coffee and plenty of seating (Irving Plaza)
- Devoción specializes in Colombian coffee and has really unique, beautiful cafes (20th Street)
- Bluestone Lane is also one of my favorite coffee destinations in the city (corner of Broadway and 20th)
- Finally, our office has the best cold brew around!
What’s one thing that surprises people about your city?
Kevin Hoxie: New Yorkers have this “tough guy” persona but they are the first ones to help if you need it.
Why is NYC an important place for Silverline?
John Kollmer: It’s a hub for the kinds of companies that we seek out as clients. We’re deeply rooted in creating solutions for the Financial Services and Healthcare industries, so being headquartered in NYC not only makes sense, but it helps us reach the people we aim to serve.
What is the best part of the NYC office?
Sarah: I love how open the office is and that there are a lot of communal spaces. My favorite part has to be in the kitchen area. We have a huge island where we can sit and eat lunch together or work in the afternoon when you want a change of scenery. It’s a great way to socialize with your colleagues!
What’s a typical day at work look like for you?
Sonal Thukral: I typically start my day by checking emails and slack messages for the first 30 minutes while sipping on a giant cup of coffee. Then I hop on to my first standup of the day during which I summarize the work I did for a project the previous day, the work I will be doing today, and if I have any blockers. Once I am done, I put on my headset, blast some music, and go head down building really cool integrations for our clients.
What’s your favorite part of any given weekday?
Ashley Gray: Wednesdays! We get free lunch delivered to the office from Forkable. It’s a nice way to break up the week and gather everyone in the NYC office to sit down for lunch.
Tell us one quirky thing about your breakfast routine (i.e., you only cut your toast on a diagonal, you hate milk in your coffee, etc.).
Kevin: I thought breakfast was a waste of time and never really had it until six months ago.
What’s your role at Silverline and what do you love most about it?
Skylar: I am a Senior Business Analyst. I enjoy the flexibility about the role and the fact that every day I have the potential to be working on something brand new.
Name three things you couldn’t do without in order to work most effectively.
John: Music is definitely on the list. If I need to focus, I turn to the wonder of Cirque du Soleil albums to get me through. Solid coworkers are also on the list. I need people I can rely on for help, humor, and happiness. The final thing I need would be a full glass of water. I’m one of those people that does not drink coffee or tea, but I have a tall glass of water on my desk at all times.
Show off your desk setup!
Kevin:
What’s the atmosphere of the office?
Chelsea: Our NYC headquarters (affectionately called “860”) is a bright, energy-filled office space, which definitely has more of a San Francisco startup vibe than that of the typical corporate consulting NYC office people often think of when they envision a New York office space. While most of us have the option to work from home, more often than not, those of us within an easy commute of 860 will be there. The camaraderie we have with one another is the best part of the office (happy hour, anyone?), but the great view of Union Square, the ping pong tables, the bean bag chairs, and the well-stocked kitchen definitely make it a great place to work from each day!
Do you have any local events for Silverline employees to get together and connect?
Kevin: Happy hours in the office! I have put together a lot of happy hours and I always try to get people to stay for our regular Friday happy hours. 🙂
How do you stay connected to Silverliners in other locations?
Chelsea: While there are multiple ways I stay in touch with Silverliners outside of NYC, the top two are traveling and Zoom. I take advantage of being able to work remotely and frequently take weekend trips, working remotely on Fridays. A lot of trips have me going where other Silverliners are, so I make a point to try and visit the local office (if we have one) or to grab drinks with my colleagues while visiting their hometowns. As I write this, I’m actually with my best friend Patrick (whom I met through Silverline!) at our Omaha office. When not traveling, Zoom keeps me in touch with Silverliners all over the country. There’s even a group of us that have a standing Zoom meeting for Friday afternoon happy hours, so we can all toast one another and the end of the week together!
What’s your favorite Slack channel?
Kori: The Game of Thrones channel was definitely my favorite when the show was running. Monday mornings, the channel was full of discussion and questions and theories, it was great!
What are your favorite company-wide or team-wide events?
Jiordan: We’ve had really great things come up in the many months I’ve been here. We had our 10-year anniversary Summit in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the entire company came together. But in the NYC office in particular, I like our (delicious) annual guac-off, our regular new hire happy hours (there’s always so much food and it’s great to meet our newest Silverliners)… and even though I’m more of a dog parent myself, it was truly magical to see coworkers’ kids participating in the greatest Take Your Kids to Work Day ever this past spring.
For more office tour fun, be sure to read our posts on Omaha, Atlanta, Chicago, and Minneapolis.
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