Volunteer with Open House New York and share your love of the city! Help provide access to buildings and experiences across the city, celebrate curiosity, encourage a deeper understanding of how the city works, and explore new neighborhoods, projects, and ideas with us.
OHNY Weekend volunteers are the first point of contact for festival attendees and partners. They greet guests, assist with check-in, manage lines, provide information, ensure participants stay with tour groups, and ensure activities run smoothly.
The festival is made possible with the help of more than 1,100 volunteers.
Volunteers are assigned to help support one place that opens their doors for the festival. Shifts are four hours on average. Volunteers are matched to places based on their availability and geographic preference. We can also assign friends and family members who volunteer together to the same location.
All volunteers, including returning volunteers, are required to attend an orientation session:
Contact Alba Cruz at volunteer@ohny.org with any questions.
Volunteer registration for the 2026 festival is now open!
Throughout the year, Open House New York hosts tours, talks, open studios, and social gatherings across the city—giving unparalleled access to the places, people, projects, systems, and ideas that define New York and its future. Like at OHNY Weekend, volunteers help greet guests, manage check-in, and direct visitors to and inside venues.
Occasionally, OHNY also seeks assistance with photography, digital marketing, editorial work, data entry, data analysis, and more. We welcome volunteers with diverse experiences and skills. If you can't volunteer in October, sign up to receive notices about volunteer opportunities at other times of the year.
"As an OHNY volunteer, I am helping an organization whose mission resonates with my values. I am connecting with my community while we are working toward a common goal of making New York City's amazing architecture open to all New Yorkers."
– Jennifer Rivers, Volunteer
"To anyone out there volunteering, I would remind you that wherever you are, no matter how beautiful or grand the space you're in, it always feels better if you can share that moment of awe with someone else."
– Ben Helmer, Volunteer
"I'm an Open House New Yorker because our city needs more friendly faces to reveal what amazing places and spaces New York has to offer."
– Justin Dinkins, Volunteer
"The Firehouse on Jay Street, Brooklyn."
– Fiona Torres, Volunteer
"The ultimate opportunity to learn and experience what you mistakenly thought you already knew about NYC."
– Eric Aglow, Volunteer
"The incredibly diverse group of people you meet."
– Alba Cruz, Volunteer Manager
"As an OHNY volunteer, I am helping an organization whose mission resonates with my values. I am connecting with my community while we are working toward a common goal of making New York City's amazing architecture open to all New Yorkers."
– Jennifer Rivers, Volunteer
"To anyone out there volunteering, I would remind you that wherever you are, no matter how beautiful or grand the space you're in, it always feels better if you can share that moment of awe with someone else."
– Ben Helmer, Volunteer
"I'm an Open House New Yorker because our city needs more friendly faces to reveal what amazing places and spaces New York has to offer."
– Justin Dinkins, Volunteer
"The Firehouse on Jay Street, Brooklyn."
– Fiona Torres, Volunteer
"The ultimate opportunity to learn and experience what you mistakenly thought you already knew about NYC."
– Eric Aglow, Volunteer
"The incredibly diverse group of people you meet."
– Alba Cruz, Volunteer Manager
