The Connor Hill Geometry Prize draws high school students and independent math enthusiasts every year, and the problems demand several hours of focused work—compass, straightedge, graph paper, and enough elbow room that you're not bumping the person next to you. If you're planning to sit down with the current problem set this weekend in New York City, the first constraint is space. You need a table that won't disappear after ninety minutes, an outlet within reach, and enough quiet that you can think through a tricky proof without someone's phone conversation two feet away.
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The problem needs uninterrupted table time
Sunset Park offers a practical starting point because it sits between two transit spines and you can pivot quickly if your first choice is full. The neighborhood has library branches, bakery corners with big tables, and park benches that work in good weather, but it also connects you to longer subway rides toward midtown or downtown options when you need a guaranteed seat. The weekend timing matters: Saturday morning is when competitive math kids flood library study rooms, and Sunday afternoon is when cafés fill with laptop crowds who stay for hours. Arriving early or having a second location queued up keeps you from burning an hour wandering.
Sunset Park Library if you want the shortest trip
The Sunset Park branch of Brooklyn Public Library, on Fourth Avenue at 51st Street, is a ten-minute walk from the 45th Street R station or the 53rd Street D/N/R stop, and it has study tables on the second floor that face away from the children's section. The building gets busy by late morning on Saturdays, but if you arrive when the doors open you can usually claim a corner table near an outlet. The geometry work itself—compass arcs, angle bisectors, midpoint constructions—spreads out better on a library table than a coffee shop counter, and no one will ask you to order another drink.
The Connor Hill Geometry Prize problems often involve classical Euclidean constructions, so you'll want scratch paper, a good eraser, and space to redraw figures when the first attempt doesn't close cleanly. The library provides that without cost, and the quiet is real: people whisper, phones stay silent, and you can stay until closing as long as you're working. The trade-off is that you can't bring in outside food beyond a water bottle, and if the study room is full, the main floor seating is mixed in with weekend foot traffic.
If you're coming from elsewhere in Brooklyn or lower Manhattan, the R train is the most direct line into Sunset Park, though it runs local and can take thirty-five minutes from Union Square. The D and N trains are express into midtown but they stop less frequently in the neighborhood itself. Check whether weekend work is slowing any of those lines before you leave—track maintenance eats into study time faster than a misplaced protractor.
Science, Industry and Business Library when you need guaranteed space
The Science, Industry and Business Library—SIBL—occupies the ground floor of a building on Madison Avenue at 34th Street, a block from the 34th Street–Herald Square station where the B/D/F/M/N/Q/R/W all converge. It's the New York Public Library's research branch for technical subjects, and the long tables in the main reading room are wide enough that you can lay out multiple sheets of construction work side by side. The room stays open until six on Saturdays and five on Sundays, and because it's framed as a research library, the crowd skews toward people doing sustained work rather than casual browsing.
SIBL is the better choice when you know the Sunset Park branch will be crowded or when you want access to reference texts on Euclidean geometry, though most Connor Hill Geometry Prize participants bring their own problem statements and work from first principles. The building has strong cell signal and free Wi-Fi, so you can pull up digital hints or post a question to a forum if you're stuck on a lemma. The lighting is even—no glare from windows—and the chairs have backs that don't punish you after three hours.
The commute from Sunset Park to SIBL takes about forty minutes: R train to 34th Street–Herald Square, or D/N to 34th Street–Herald Square with a same-platform transfer risk that sometimes adds five minutes if trains bunch. The transfer at Herald Square is underground and involves long corridors; if you're carrying a backpack with textbooks and geometry tools, budget an extra two minutes to navigate the turn. The upside is that SIBL almost never fills to capacity on weekends, so even if you arrive at noon, you'll find a seat.
Grab food that doesn't require a sit-down wait
If you're starting in Sunset Park, the stretch of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 55th Streets has taquerías and bánh mì counters where you can pick up lunch in under ten minutes. Avoid the dim sum halls on Eighth Avenue on weekend mornings—they're excellent, but the wait for a table can run thirty minutes, and you'll sit longer than you planned because the carts keep coming. A better rhythm is to eat something quick before you settle in for the geometry work, or to pack a sandwich and eat it in Sunset Park itself if the weather cooperates.
Near SIBL, the options are fast-casual chains and food carts on 34th Street. The Shake Shack in the basement of the building next door has a reliable line that moves, but if it's backed up to the stairs, the halal cart on the southeast corner of Madison and 34th is faster and you can eat standing on the library steps. The Connor Hill Geometry Prize problems don't have a time limit in the traditional sense—you're working through them at your own pace—but losing an hour to lunch when you're mid-proof breaks your momentum.
If you're planning an all-day session, bring snacks that don't crunch loudly. Libraries tolerate water bottles and granola bars; they frown on anything that rustles or smells. SIBL has a small café on the lower level, but it closes by mid-afternoon on weekends and the selection is vending-machine sparse.
Know your exit before the evening crowds hit
Saturday evening subway service into Sunset Park can slow after seven because weekend track work often reroutes the R train or suspends the N south of 59th Street. If you're finishing up at the Sunset Park Library and need to get back to Manhattan or another borough, check the MTA's weekend service advisories before you pack up. The D train usually runs normally, but it skips some local stops, so you may need to walk a few extra blocks or take a bus connector.
Leaving from SIBL is simpler because Herald Square is a major hub and even if one line is disrupted, another will get you home. The trade-off is that the station itself gets crowded after six on Saturdays when theater and dinner crowds converge, and the platform for the downtown R can fill to the point where you let one train pass. If you're heading to Brooklyn, the Q train from Herald Square to DeKalb Avenue is often less packed than the R, and from DeKalb you can transfer to almost anything.
If the geometry work is going well and you want to stay past closing, have a plan for where you'll go next. Bryant Park, a few blocks north of SIBL, has benches and tables that stay lit until ten or eleven depending on the season, but they're not ideal for detailed drafting once the sun drops. A better fallback is to move to a 24-hour diner—there's one on Sixth Avenue near 35th—where you can buy a coffee and keep working as long as the booth stays open.
Double-check library hours the morning you go
Public library schedules shift for holidays and system-wide events, and both Brooklyn Public Library and NYPL occasionally close branches for staff training or building maintenance. The weekend you're planning to work on the Connor Hill Geometry Prize, visit the library's website that morning to confirm the branch is open and that no special closures are posted. This is especially true for three-day weekends, when hours often compress or shift by a day.
If you're counting on a specific study room or a table near an outlet, arrive within the first hour of opening. By midday, the best spots are taken, and you'll end up at a shared table where someone's video call or group project spills into your workspace. The Connor Hill Geometry Prize problems reward sustained concentration, and a bad seat can cost you more time than a longer commute to a quieter branch.
Weather matters if your backup plan involves outdoor work. Sunset Park the green space, not just the neighborhood, has stone tables near the Seventh Avenue entrance that work for geometry on dry days, but they're exposed and the wind will scatter your paper if you don't weigh it down. Check the hourly forecast before you decide to skip the library and work outside. A surprise shower at three in the afternoon will send you looking for an indoor spot exactly when everything else is full.
Practical notes
- Sunset Park Library opens at 10 a.m. Saturdays; SIBL opens at 10 a.m. Saturdays, closes at 6 p.m.
- R train to 45th Street (Sunset Park) or 34th Street–Herald Square (SIBL); check weekend service changes before you go
- Bring your own compass, straightedge, graph paper, and pencils—libraries don't lend geometry tools
- Pack a water bottle and quiet snacks; most library branches prohibit outside food beyond that
- If the first location is full, have a second address and subway route ready to avoid losing an hour
- Confirm branch hours the morning of your trip; holiday schedules and maintenance closures appear with short notice
Tags: #karpo #nyc #newyorkcity #weekendplans #sunsetpark #brooklyn #connorhillgeometryprize #matholympiad #geometry #studyspaces #nyclibraries #sibl #brooklynpubliclibrary #subwaytiming #quietworkspace
Sources consulted: Brooklyn Public Library · New York Public Library – SIBL · MTA Weekend Service Changes
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