By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Imagine a Starbucks where you don't have to buy anything to sit down, where you can tap out an e-mail on a public computer and then recharge during a free 20-minute yoga class.
That's the vision behind Charlotte's Place, the new storefront community center that Trinity Church is opening this spring on Greenwich Street.
"We want to offer things everyone can be part of: students, homeless folks, people working downtown," Rev. Matthew Heyd said during a tour this week. "The open door is a key part."
Trinity envisions a wide range of groups using the space — from an urban gardening nonprofit doing a demonstration to a movie and pizza night for families — and the only requirement is that the events are free and open to the public.
For the past 30 years, the 3,000-square-foot space just south of the World Trade Center site has served as storage space for Trinity, notable only for its dark-painted windows.
But thanks to a recent bequest from longtime parishioner Charlotte Scott, after whom the center is named, Trinity has spent the past few months turning the closet into a large sunlit space, which Heyd likes to call the church's "back porch."
Cafe tables will arrive soon to give local workers and residents a place to sit and eat their lunch, which they will have to buy elsewhere since Charlotte's Place will not serve food or drinks. A bank of computers and free wireless will be available, along with a conference room for local groups to hold meetings. The blank walls of a hallway will become a gallery for local artists.
In the center of the main room, a welcome desk will display the phrase "For a World of Good" in 15 languages.
Jennifer Chinn, 34, the program manager for Charlotte's Place, said her biggest challenge will be to balance the space's energy and movement with a quieter, contemplative feeling that she also wants to cultivate.
The center will not have an overt religious emphasis, though it will encourage mindfulness and offer volunteer opportunities.
"Whatever you have going on spiritually is welcome here," Chinn said. "It's a spiritual thing for us to extend [hospitality] to people. But for people to receive that, nothing is required."
Charlotte's Place has already started holding small events and will host its first large community celebration on Tuesday, in honor of Mardi Gras. By summer, the space will be open five to six days a week from lunchtime until early evening.
The Mardi Gras event will begin Tuesday at 2 p.m. with live music and a setup party at Charlotte's Place, 109 Greenwich St. The official dancing and feasting party kicks off at 6 p.m.
