FLATIRON — A new club for “well-read women in the know” is looking to open in the Flatiron, offering its members work space, showers, on-demand makeup and a lactation station.
Public relations specialist Audrey Gelman and her business partner Lauren Kassan, a former division director at ClassPass, are launching The Wing on East 20th Street between Park Avenue South and Broadway as a “sacred space” for women to get work done, relax or “even stage a small coup,” according to the club’s website.
The club sent out an email soliciting members Wednesday afternoon, noting The Wing would open in a few weeks but not providing an exact date or specific address.
Gelman, known for her work with Comptroller Scott Stringer and for her close friendship with “Girls” creator Lena Dunham, previously led PR firm SKDKnickerbocker’s millennial strategy division.
Gelman and Kassan found inspiration in the all-female clubs of the women’s rights movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as well as the groups that continued that tradition through the 20th century, according to the club’s website.
In the club’s mission statement, the founders wrote that it was difficult to find a space that wasn’t populated by loud men or didn't feel antiquated.
“There wasn’t anything out there that satisfied her need for flexible space with chill company,” the founders wrote. “She tried co-working spaces and felt surrounded by bros. She visited social clubs and felt like she was trapped in BBC Masterpiece Theater. This magical place simply didn’t exist. So we created it.”
In addition to on-demand makeup and blowouts, amenities at the club will include “really good WiFi,” a lactation station, a conference and phone-call room, and food and drinks, according to the website. The Wing will also host events including debate parties, poker nights and "talks with badass women."
Membership will cost $185 per month or $1,950 annually, not including a one-time registration fee of $100 plus tax, according to the website. The membership page asks applicants standard questions including line of work before getting to the quirkier stuff, including “what is your side hustle?” and “name a complicated woman you admire.”
The Wing will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Gelman and Kassan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
