I have never written a review for Yelp or any other site before. I never saw a reason to do so. I suppose I was waiting for an event or a situation that would merit my sitting down and putting words together. I had such a situation (two, in fact) this weekend at Symphony Space.
After putting off going to Symphony Space all summer, my girlfriend and I decided to check out the Charlie Chaplin and Kurosawa films that are playing on the weekends. The idea of being in a cool theater watching classic films seemed very inviting.
Well, on Saturday there was no air-conditioning, and Symphony Space was super hot. Both the box office and the manager in charge alerted us to the fact, apologized, told us the repairs were underway, and offered us free beverages and the possibility of a refund. I didn't want to stay, but I had come from across town, so I gave it a shot. Everyone was super friendly, which you never find in New York City (or I don't), and within twenty minutes or so, we could feel cool air. Everything turned out fine, and as we were leaving, the staff thanked us for coming and for being so patient, and then my girlfriend and I stood around talking about films and life and air conditioning. This is how I would like my weekends to always be.
We returned on Sunday and there was air-conditioning, but the Chaplin film stopped working midway, the lights went up, and the same manager came into the audience, apologized, and said repairs were being made. Again we were offered beverages and again the audience engaged in conversation with him and his staff about films and Chaplin and other things. The film returned within five or ten minutes and all went well. We stayed for "Seven Samurai," and as we left the staff again thanked us for coming, asked us to come back, and I was again struck by how the whole experience, which could have been terrible, and which usually is terrible, had been terrific.
I will definitely spend more time there, and I wish there were more places like it. read more