vip in the city

On the roof

After the sale of some commercial space on the ground floor, R’s building recently added a few amenities to the already enviable roof deck, including a brand new, and rather massive, Viking grill, an ice maker and an outdoor shower. Although it wasn’t quite warm enough – or appropriate – for an al fresco rinse, given our relative inexperience with the grill, we were glad to have the water source so close at hand.

Most impressive (though not new) was the 360 degree view of lower Manhattan. The lit spire of the Empire State Building to the north disappeared into a hazy mist, casting a surreal glow over the panorama. I made mental note to tote my camera around more often for just such occasions.

As we sat down to our dinner of gazpacho, chipotle grilled corn salad and lamb/chicken/shrimp shish kabobs, the artist (and Moby cohort) Damian Loeb stopped by to remind us to dispose of our garbage when we were finished. Does it speak to a lack of sophistication that despite having lived in New York City almost my entire life, I still get a slight thrill out of seeing semi-famous people in such commonplace and unexpected situations?