In Brooklyn, a phone-free room of Democrats agreed a blue wave is coming — and debated the data-center identity crisis

About 300 people gathered in Greenpoint on a Thursday night for a political discussion that began with an unusual request: check your phone at the door.

Attendees placed their devices in pouches before entering 100 Sutton St., five days before the midterm elections. The crowd included campaign staff, consultants, organizers, founders and journalists—people whose work is closely tied to the digital feed.

A political gathering without the feed

The phone-free format set Newsreel’s “Midterm Mania” panel apart from the constant online activity surrounding campaigns and elections. For one evening, participants in the event spent time together without immediate access to their devices.

The gathering took place in Greenpoint, within the northwest Brooklyn area described as part of the so-called “commie corridor” stretching from northwest Queens through northern Brooklyn.

Why the setting stood out

The event brought together several groups involved in political communication and campaign work. Its audience reflected the people who help shape, report on and organize around the political conversation online.

Rather than focusing on a digital feed, the evening centered on an in-person panel and discussion among the attendees. The phone check-in offered a temporary break from the platforms that typically connect them to campaigns, colleagues and audiences.

The event showed how a political gathering can create a different kind of conversation simply by putting phones aside.