Every August, a familiar transformation sweeps across New York City. The morning subway commute feels less like a sardine can. Museum lines shrink to manageable lengths. Restaurant reservations that seemed impossible, aren't. The Perch Advisors team recently celebrated our 10 years of Impact and had the opportunity to learn more about our peers' favorite NYC places and experiences. As we enter August, a month that could conjure the dread of “out of office” work emails, or delight of parking availability, I would like to offer some urban suggestions that you may be interested in as well as an invitation to humanize your work further.
According to a 2018 New York Times article, The Metropolitan Museum of Art sees a 20% drop in visitors by Labor Day, while subway ridership dips by 6%, creating an almost eerie calm in a city that never sleeps. But is New York truly empty in August? The answer is more nuanced than the quiet feel of certain neighborhoods might suggest. While families with school-age children escape to the Shore or European adventures, the city operates like a revolving door—as New Yorkers head out, tourists head in. Water usage remains constant at about 1 billion gallons daily, and hotel bookings actually increase.
This seasonal shift presents a unique opportunity that extends far beyond easier museum visits or shorter restaurant waits. August's quieter rhythm creates space for something more: the chance to truly explore our neighborhoods and, perhaps more importantly, to discover the hidden depths of the people we work alongside every day.
The Art of Professional Archaeology
Professionally, we often operate in parallel universes with our colleagues. We may know their employer or job title—but do we know what makes them light up outside the conference room? August's slower pace provides the perfect excavation site for these human discoveries.
Take the economic development leader who studied to be a priest, bringing a spiritual dimension to community advocacy that suddenly makes his welcoming leadership approach click into place. Or the colleague who can spin a flag—a skill that hints at performance background, creativity, and perhaps a different relationship with public space than you might have imagined. These aren't just fun facts; they're windows into how people think, what drives them, and how their personal experiences might inform their professional perspectives.
The peer who used to model for Nike Running likely understands the intersection of urban movement, physical wellness, and city design in ways that textbooks can't teach. And that VP of Operations who turns out to be a former wedding band lead singer? Suddenly their presentation skills and ability to read a room make perfect sense.
Beyond Small Talk: The Humanity Dividend
When we invest effort in understanding our colleagues as complete humans rather than job descriptions, something happens. Professional collaboration becomes infused with empathy, creativity, and genuine connection. The colleague who visits Marie’s Crisis and belts show tunes might approach problem-solving with theatrical flair and emotional intelligence. The one who knows about The Willy Wall or can direct you to La Gran Nagua Bakery in Cypress Hills clearly possesses deep neighborhood knowledge that could transform how your team approaches community engagement.
This human-centered approach to professional relationships pays dividends beyond improved office dynamics. When we understand what energizes our peers—whether it's the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island or the underground sounds at MoMA PS1's Warm Up series—we begin to see the city through multiple lenses simultaneously. Their enthusiasms become our research opportunities; their weekend adventures become case studies in urban exploration.
August as Laboratory
The temporarily emptied city becomes a laboratory for both neighborhood discovery and relationship building. It's the perfect time to accept that invitation to explore Gateway National Recreation Area by Floyd Bennett Field, to finally check out the views at Shirley Chisholm State Park, or to experience the maritime ballet visible from Midland Beach's Verrazzano vantage point.
But more than solo exploration, August invites collaborative discovery. Why not organize a professional development outing to Sylvia's or cocktails at The Wayland? Similarly, the Bronx Night Market's monthly Saturday gathering at Fordham Plaza offers a chance to experience the city's entrepreneurial energy alongside colleagues who might surprise you with their knowledge of food culture.The New York Historical Society's current exhibition, Dining In Transit, showcasing culinary excellence aboard airplanes, trains, and ocean liners provides perfect common ground for transit enthusiasts and food lovers alike. The Rooftop Cinema Club's Midtown screenings offer another intersection of professional networking and personal enjoyment—one rooted in shared appreciation for the city's possibilities rather than forced office exercises. Shared experience creates shared reference points that inevitably surface in future project discussions, enriching professional dialogue with personal experience.
Infrastructure of Connection
What emerges from this approach is an infrastructure of connection that makes professional collaboration more resilient, creative, and effective. When you know that your colleague has a keen eye for unique spaces and places, you're more likely to seek their input on neighborhood commercial development strategies. When you discover that a policy analyst has deep knowledge of Governors Island's programming, their insights on public space activation carry additional weight. This isn't about forcing personal relationships or crossing the line. Instead, it's about recognizing that the best urban work comes from people who understand cities as living, breathing ecosystems—and that such understanding is often deepened by human connection.
The Revolving Door Advantage
Just as August operates as a revolving door of residents and visitors, this approach to professional relationships creates a revolving door of knowledge, experience, and perspective. Your colleague's weekend adventure becomes your next exploration opportunity. Their neighborhood insight becomes your project asset. Their personal passion becomes your professional inspiration. Let the city's August emptiness reveal a fuller understanding of place, fuller appreciation for the people who shape it, and fuller recognition that being a professional badass and personal curiosity aren't separate endeavors but complementary forces.
Seasonal Wisdom
As August water usage data suggests, New York never truly empties—it transforms. The same is true for professional relationships when we invest in understanding our colleagues as complete humans. The quiet colleague reveals unexpected depths. The data-focused analyst shares surprising creative insights. The policy expert demonstrates hidden neighborhood knowledge. August's gift isn't really about seats on the subway or easier restaurant reservations, though those are pleasant bonuses. Its true offering is time and space—time to explore beyond our usual boundaries and space to connect with the people who make our professional work possible and meaningful.
So this August, as the city shifts into its seasonal rhythm, consider extending an invitation. Suggest that exploration of Gateway National Recreation Area. Organize that group visit to the Jazz Age Lawn Party. Ask about weekend plans and actually listen to the answers. The neighborhoods you discover might surprise you, but the colleagues you come to know as whole humans will almost certainly transform how you understand both your work and your city.
In a metropolis built on millions of individual stories, August offers the rare gift of quiet enough to actually hear them. The question isn't whether the city is empty—it's whether we're prepared to fill the space with genuine human connection and shared urban discovery. After all, the best cities are built not just by professionals who understand zoning codes and transit systems, but by people who know where to find the perfect Dominican pastry, who can appreciate both maritime views and underground music, and who understand that urban excellence emerges from the intersection of professional expertise and personal passion.
This August, let the temporarily quieter city reveal both its hidden corners and the hidden depths of the people working to make it better. Both discoveries will serve you well long after the families return from their summer escapes and the city resumes its typical intensity.
