Clubs

The Dartmouth Club of New York City (DCNY) is the only Dartmouth club in the country with a physical facility for business, sports, dining and hotel accommodations. Because of its premier location in midtown at 50 Vanderbilt Ave., across the street from Grand Central Station, the clubs membership includes both alumni who live in New York City as well as those who commute from the suburbs. It also offers its facilities to those who travel from across the country and internationally into Manhattan.

Founded in the mid-1950s, the club is the perfect place to share a piece of Dartmouth with colleagues, family and friends. "The club can be a Dartmouth refuge, a Dartmouth outpost or both," said DCNY president Zachary Greenhill '75. "At the traditional DCNY and the Dartmouth Alumni Association of NYC (DAANYC) December holiday party, more than 190 attended and we signed up 90 new DAANYC members." As Janet Lieberman '96, the club's technology committee chair, said, "It's a great way for alumni to reconnect, whether it is for socializing, networking or just 'hanging out' in a familiar setting."

The advantages of membership include three restaurants, one with a breathtaking view of Manhattan from the rooftop, a fully equipped gym, a swimming pool, hotel accommodations, banquet rooms and an impressive library, all conveniently located in the same building. For the first year after graduation, a young alum who joins the DCNY gets a free gym membership. Also, DCNY membership is reciprocal and DCNY members enjoy the benefits afforded by more than 60 other clubs across the country, from Washington, D.C., to California and even overseas to England Japan and Russia.

The club has three major social events on its calendar, a fall event to link those in the city and welcome new arrivals, a December holiday celebration, and a "Spring Fling." At the recent holiday celebration the Cords, an a cappella music group, traveled from Hanover to perform while those present enjoyed hot hors d'oeuvres, a wide selection of drinks and the chance to unwind with new and old friends. An auction, both silent and with a live auctioneer of Dartmouth memorabilia and other items, is planned for the spring event. Such community-wide events bring together alumni of all ages and are "a great opportunity to mingle with classes I don't get to meet at the young alumni events," says Liz McKeon '02.

And, of course, the members of the DCNY and DAANYC take advantage of the wide alumni network. The club has developed a "Centers of Influence series in which alumni who are renowned or have made a difference in their respective fields speak. The club also plays host to the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN) events to offer deeper insight into specific industries and provide a tool set with which to recognize and create successful business ventures.

The DCNY and DAANYC also take advantage of their New York location to get tickets to cultural events that feature Dartmouth alumni through a program known as Dart Blocks. Shannon Danzy '00, the social activities chair, works aggressively to link the membership with Dartmouth alums who appear in shows by providing first-rate tickets and backstage access where alumni cast members share their insights about the show. At a recent Dart Block event, alumni watched the Barber of Seville by the New York City Opera and after the show spoke with the female lead backstage.

To learn more about membership benefits of DCNY, please visit www.dartmouth.org/ clubs/nyc or contact the club at (212) 986-3232.

Special thanks to Lisa Birzen '03, who submitted this Club Notes column.

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