As the person planning your office's calendar for late September, one week is going to look different from the rest. Climate Week NYC runs September 20 through 27, timed alongside the UN General Assembly's high-level session. More than a thousand events and over 100,000 attendees move through the city that week. Some of that ends up in Midtown offices directly, in the form of extra meetings, client visits, and last-minute catering requests that wouldn't normally happen on a random Tuesday in September. Booking your office's catering for that week now, a month ahead, means your date is set before everyone else starts making the same calls.
Climate Week NYC and the UN General Assembly's high-level session overlap deliberately. Climate-focused organizations plan sessions and receptions around the same week executives and government delegations are already in town for the UN meetings, since it means their audience is already in the city. That overlap means more outside visitors moving through Midtown, and more of them ending up in office buildings for meetings, panels, and conversations that need somewhere to happen. A firm that hosts three client meetings a month might host three that week alone.
If your office hosts client meetings, executive briefings, or drop-ins with outside partners, that week is when the calendar fills fastest. Teams that don't usually cater a Tuesday afternoon meeting end up doing it that week, because a visiting delegation or an out-of-town executive is in the building. That kind of meeting often gets added to the calendar on short notice, which means the catering call comes in late too — right when demand for that week is climbing across every Midtown office booking the same thing. A meeting that would normally get coffee and pastries might call for a fuller spread once you know who's actually walking in the door.
Metro's calendar for September 20 through 27 fills the way any high-demand week does: on a first-booked basis. Locking in your date now, a month ahead, means the order is set before the surge hits rather than during it. If you already know your office is likely to need catering that week, even without a headcount or menu decided yet, get the date on the calendar first and fill in the details as they firm up. A held date with a rough headcount is easy to adjust later; a date you didn't book at all is a much harder problem to solve the week of.
Climate Week and UN General Assembly week run September 20 through 27. If your office is likely to need catering that week, get the date locked with Metro now — the details can follow once RSVPs and headcounts are clearer, but the date itself is worth securing today.
Author
Chris Zamfotis
Managing Partner, Metro Catering
Chris Zamfotis is the Managing Partner at Metro Catering, a New York City catering company serving corporate offices, private events, and businesses across Manhattan. With a focus on reliable service, thoughtful menu planning, and polished presentation, Chris helps lead Metro Catering’s approach to modern corporate catering, from daily office lunches to executive meetings, happy hours, and large-scale events.
Metro Catering has been NYC’s trusted corporate catering provider since 1981, offering fresh, high-quality meals for office lunches, corporate events, and workplace dining—delivered on time, every time.
