Looking for NY IMers to speak at event any any advice on venues?

Hi,

I have a couple of Meetup groups in NY which I'm looking at holding the first Meetups for:

New York Internet Entrepreneurs (the larger group)
New York Social Media Groupies

at the end of July.

I'm actually English and still reside in the UK so some input from you guys would be great.

I thought it would be cool to start a Meetup group in New York and give myself an excuse to visit. I've set myself a challenge to put on a really good event and charge just enough to cover for my travel expenses.

So what I'm looking to do is to create an event with some great value with some inspiring speakers providing great content. And obviously, those speakers would have the floor to pitch any products or services they may offer (in a non-pressurised manner).

Any advice on venues would be appreciated also.

Any other offers in terms of Sponsorship, Joint Ventures, etc. feel free to send me a message.

A close of friend of mine who lives in the UK but is a native New Yorker is over there at the moment is helping me on this also but has limited time as she's there to see her parents.

Thanks a lot,

Jackson