There are many resources for you, especially as the community continues to grow. I haven't experienced much of the cut-throat attitude at all. In fact I have gotten a tremendous amount fo support and advice from many in the community here over the past year.
I'd suggest starting off in a co-working space since you can share resources and get help, instead of siloing yourself in a separate office.
I'd suggest starting off in a co-working space since you can share resources and get help, instead of siloing yourself in a separate office.
Some resources to check out include:
Working Spaces
General Assembly - http://generalassemb.ly
New Work City - http://nwc.co
We Work Labs - http://weworklabs.com
DogPatch Labs - http://dogpatchlabs.com
LooseCubes (search for a place) - http://loosecubes.com
Email Events Lists
Startup Digest - http://startupdigest.com
This Week In NYC Innovation - http://bit.ly/nycinnovation
Other
Ohours - http://ohours.org
Meetup - http://meetup.com
NyHacker - http://nyhacker.org
Startup Weekend - http://startupweekend.org
Lean Startup Machine - http://theleanstartupmachine.com