42nd St · A / C / E
42nd St & 8th Ave
One block south of HQ. Cleanest route from Penn, Brooklyn, and most of Queens.
1 min
NYC · for visitors
Getting here, where to eat, where to decompress, who to call. Edited down to what's actually useful during a two-day offsite at 620 8th Ave.
01 · Getting here
620 8th Ave sits between 40th and 41st, right on the Port Authority block. Every major subway line ends within five minutes of the front door.
42nd St & 8th Ave
One block south of HQ. Cleanest route from Penn, Brooklyn, and most of Queens.
42nd St & Broadway
Every major line lands here. Use if you're coming from the east side or staying in midtown east.
NJ Transit to Newark Penn, then PATH to 33rd St/6th Ave. Walk 10 min north to HQ. $3.25 + $2.90.
30–45 min depending on traffic. $40–60 to HQ. No direct subway. M60-SBS bus connects via 125th St if you're time-rich and cash-poor.
Fastest: AirTrain to Jamaica, LIRR to Penn ($11), walk 8 min. Cheapest: AirTrain to Sutphin-Archer, E train straight to 42nd St ($11).
Late at night, subways slow to 20-min waits. Curb beats Lyft/Uber for yellow-cab pickup right on 8th Ave.
02 · Inside HQ
Quiet rooms, mother's room, rooftop, seating by team. A few of these are still placeholders — Key will fill them in before launch.
620 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018
Enter off 8th Ave between 40th and 41st. Badge in at the ground-floor security desk — your name should be on the offsite list.
Day 1 and Day 2 are full-COE in Chess. Day 3 is a team day — your director will share the room for your group.
A no-meetings, no-talking room. Walk away from any session whenever you need to — nobody is keeping score.
Lactation room. Badge access only — confirm with the front desk on arrival if you need a one-time escort.
Open lounge with skyline views. Worth a 5-minute break between sessions. Meals for the offsite are catered in-office, not on the rooftop.
03 · Lunch
All within a 5-to-10-minute walk from HQ. Dietary tags on each card. Order ahead on the app where you can.
24 W 45th St
Hand-pulled biang-biang noodles and spicy cumin lamb burgers. Fast, loud, worth the line.
1435 Broadway
A plain slice, a water, out the door in 4 minutes. The platonic ideal of a weekday NYC lunch.
1460 Broadway
Order on the app before you leave the desk. Skip the line, walk back with a harvest bowl, 15 min total.
W 53rd St & 6th Ave
A small pilgrimage, but the chicken-and-rice combo plate with white sauce is the reason 100+ people queue at lunch.
611 9th Ave
Calm sushi spot if you need 45 quiet minutes with a proper chirashi bowl and a real chair.
1000 6th Ave
Three floors, order on the app, grab upstairs. Runs fast even at peak noon.
1412 Broadway
Plant-based burger + crinkle fries + soft-serve. Good vegan option if Sweetgreen isn't doing it for you today.
1129 Broadway
Cambodian-style banh mi on house baguettes. The five-spice pork is the move. Bit of a walk but the sandwich holds up.
03 · Dinner
Small-group-friendly. Reserve for 6+ at Keens or Ai Fiori a few days ahead. Los Tacos No. 1 is the no-reservation move.
72 W 36th St
Clay pipes on the ceiling, mutton chop the size of a dinner plate, dark wood everywhere. Book a week ahead for groups of 6+.
20 W 37th St
Proper Sichuan, heat you can dial down on request, big round tables made for sharing six plates.
400 5th Ave
Italian riviera tasting-menu energy, quiet enough to actually hear the person across the table. Reserve well ahead.
229 W 43rd St
Adobada off the vertical spit on fresh tortillas. No seats, just a counter and a line, but worth it before a show.
04 · Coffee
Bring a laptop. Stay 20 minutes. Touch grass in Bryant Park on the way back.
54 W 40th St
Clean espresso, oat milk on tap, window seats that face the park. Go before 9 or after 2 to skip the line.
25 W 29th St
Colombian single-origin, two-story flagship with a living wall. Worth the walk for the flat white.
1410 Broadway
NYC chain. Not the best cup in the city, but it's fast, it's close, and the cold brew is honest.
72 W 38th St
Warm, small, serves the one cookie everyone talks about (brown butter chocolate chunk). Order it.
05 · Evenings
Short hits under an hour, longer two-to-four hour plans. Museums, a rooftop drink, a Broadway seat, the High Line.
Bryant Park, 42nd St
Grass, cafe tables, a carousel. 20 minutes here after a long day resets your brain.
1000 5th Ave
Pay-what-you-wish for NY/NJ/CT residents. Open late on weekends — a two-hour wander through the Egyptian wing beats dinner-and-phones.
47th St & Broadway
Same-day Broadway tickets 30–50% off, right in Times Square. Lines after 3 pm; go straight there if you're taking the leap.
11 W 53rd St
Open until 9 on Saturdays and Fridays. Target the 5th floor — Starry Night, Water Lilies, done in an hour.
Gansevoort St to 34th St
Elevated park on the old rail line. Enter at 34th and walk south to Chelsea Market — 45 min of skyline, art, and people-watching.
310 W 40th St (Aliz Hotel, 40th floor)
Rooftop cocktail bar two blocks from HQ. Dark, velvet, 360° skyline. Go at sunset, have one drink, leave.
315 W 44th St
Three-block walk, two sets a night, serious musicians on stage. $30–$45 + drink minimum and worth every dollar.
30 Rockefeller Plaza
The Empire State views *Empire State*. Book the 7:30 pm slot to hit sunset and the switch to night.
06 · Emergencies & support
Tap the number chip on any card to dial. 988 is free, confidential, and answered 24/7. You are a person first.
Call 911 for any immediate threat to safety. Dispatch in NYC is fast. Give 620 8th Ave as the address.
Free, confidential, 24/7. Call or text 988 if you or someone you're with is in mental-health crisis.
For anything that's not an emergency: noise, lost property, transit, shelter. 24/7 live operator.
315 W 42nd St
Walk-in urgent care two blocks from HQ. Open 7 days, no appointment, bring ID and insurance card.
Not a medical resource. If you're in a life-threatening situation, call 911. For non-emergency mental-health support, see the wellness page.