Skylight Group is a firm based in New York City that partners with owners of large real estate assets to adapt historic buildings into uber-exclusive event venues for Fortune 500 clients including Google, Ralph Lauren, Target and New York Fashion Week. Jennifer Blumin founded Skylight Group in 2004 and serves as CEO. The mission of the firm is to raise the profile of historic buildings as they await transformation into any number of things — from a world-class train hall to one of the largest mixed-use developments Lower Manhattan’s seen in decades — by branding it with the things that make New York tick, like arts and fashion events.
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Skylight Group has a portfolio of venues that include Skylight Clarkson Sq, Skylight Clarkson North, Skylight West, Skylight One Hanson in Brooklyn, Skylight at Moynihan Station, and a partnership to run private events on the High Line.
Properties
Skylight Clarkson Sq is often referred to as New York City’s horizontal skyscraper, seeing as the building spans nearly four-blocks. The former terminus to the rail line along Tenth Avenue, the “lifeline of New York” that carried meat and milk and eggs from Hudson Valley and beyond is adjacent to Pier 40 in Hudson River Park and bordered by Washington and West streets and Clarkson Street to the north. Skylight Group has been on board at St. John’s Terminal, building out the reputation of event spaces Skylight Clarkson Sq and Skylight Clarkson North, since 2013. Since then, the firm’s been actively boosting the building’s profile through buzzy events: IMG Fashion Week has claimed Skylight Clarkson Sq as a venue for presentations by brands like Rag & Bone, Hugo Boss, and Phillip Lim. The venue is also home to the Collective Design Fair, returning this May.
Skylight at Moynihan Station is located in the historic James A. Farley Post Office across from Penn Station. The acclaimed McKim, Mead and White building, features a Beaux-Arts exterior that sharply contrasts with the venue's industrial interior. Tapped to become the future Amtrak terminal, Moynihan Station, will undergo a major renovation by SOM, but has played host to several high-end events, launching with New York's Fashion Week in September 2012. The former Postal Dock and Mail Sorting Rooms have undergone a metamorphosis that has been host to guests such as Anna Wintour and Bono, fashion shows for Theory, Phillip Lim and rag & bone, and a performance by Kanye West.
Skylight West, a former parking garage, has 4,500 square feet of rooftop space with city views of the Manhattan skyline. It is close to Chelsea, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and the High Line. Skylight West includes a billboard that has been repurposed as an outdoor movie screen and stage, hosting outdoor performances by MGMT and Estelle. The venue has also hosted events for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Nike, Mary J. Blige, and Facebook.
Skylight One Hanson is located in the former Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, one of New York's oldest landmarks. The venue features 63-foot ceilings and mosaic murals, and ironwork by Rene Chamberlin, which were all recently restored in Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund's redevelopment effort, a partnership that involved Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Canyon Capital Realty Partners. Known for its clocktower, which can be seen from many points throughout New York, the building was until recently the tallest building in the borough. The space has been host to several film and TV shows to the venue, including Gossip Girl, Law & Order, and White Collar. It was a "character" on HBO's Bored to Death by Jonathan Ames, and will be featured in the upcoming Russell Crowe-Will Smith remake of A Winter's Tale. Additionally, the location has been host to events for MTV/VH1, Annual Gala Brooklyn Flea.
In partnership with Friends of the High Line, Skylight Group runs events on the High Line an elevated railway turned iconic New York City park. Three venues are available for event rental, including the Chelsea Market Passage that features Spencer Finch's glass mural, "The River that Flows Both Ways," the 14th St Passage, a smaller corridor, and the Diller-von Furstenberg Sundeck, an area with expansive views of the Hudson River, a water feature and chaise lounges built into the former railroad tracks. Only a select number of events can occur each year. Events in 2012 included a Tommy Hilfiger runway presentation, Project Runway's Tenth anniversary party, and an event for Vanity Fair.
Founder, Jennifer Blumin
Jennifer provides the vision that keeps Skylight light years ahead of its competition. She oversees business development, new verticals, and marketing. Looking outside industry confines to shape Skylight’s growth, Jennifer is inspired by cities, culture, technologies, and society’s response to it all. Born in Los Angeles, Jennifer was raised in the heart of central New York’s snow belt. After graduating from Cornell University, and a brief stint in the corporate world, Jennifer jumped into the event venue business in 2000 by creating Sky Studios out of a private penthouse.
Jennifer launched Skylight Soho, (a space that is credited with shaping and defining the modern venue), in 2004. This former longshoreman’s meeting hall became the setting for some of the world’s most buzz-worthy events and served as the exclusive home to Ralph Lauren. It was through Skylight Soho that Jennifer became involved with top brands, collaborating with them on their marketing initiatives. This unique position enabled her to envision a future where content and digital reigned supreme, and she designed Skylight Group accordingly.
The event industry trade publication, BizBash honored Jennifer on the cover of their “Innovation Issue” as one the most innovative people in the event industry today. In 2013 she was named one of Ernst & Young (EY), “Winning Women,” part of the company’s Entrepreneur of the Year program for the North Americas, and was also the recipient of a Stevie Award for Women in Business. In 2014, Jennifer won a Brava SmartCEO award for her corporate innovations and philanthropic efforts, and another SmartCEO award in 2015, this time for her smart approach to real estate development. Also in 2015, Jennifer was honored by Marie Claire magazine in their “Power Issue” profiling top female entrepreneurs. In 2016 she was included in Marie Claire’s “Power Trip” alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyra Banks, and the founders of Black Lives Matter. She was recently named a “Woman of Influence” for the Young Women’s Honors, a televised event that is part of the Teen Choice Awards. In addition to supporting female entrepreneurialism through mentorship and her participation in thought leadership panels, Jennifer contributes to the New York Times’ “She Owns It” column, lending her thoughts on small business.
In addition to her business pursuits, Jennifer co-wrote Power Sleep: Preparing the Mind for Peak Performance, a New York Times business bestseller. She sits on the Board of the Lowline, New York’s first underground park, as well as the Moynihan Station Arts and Cultural Committee, an organization that seeks to energize a landmark post office building that is undergoing development into the future home of Amtrak through community and cultural programming. She is an avid and indignant biker and a bottomless well of obscure animal facts.
Consultancy
The Skylight Group provides consultancy services to a variety of clients for long or short-term event businesses in their properties.
Clients
Skylight has worked with Vogue, CFDA, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Diesel, Target, MTV, BMW, Digitas, Google, Microsoft, Nike and the Whitney Museum, and Facebook, among others.
Photography
Skylight Group's spaces have been a location for editorial and advertising clients such as Vogue, Christian Dior, Harper's Bazaar and the Louis Vuitton campaign featuring Madonna.