On March 21st, the Landmarks Committee of Community Board 4 voted to NOT recommend the Chetrit Group's proposal for an addition to the roof of the Hotel Chelsea. Rumor has been that new owner Joseph Chetrit wants to add a rooftop bar, though they've denied it when asked. Last night, the full Community Board had a chance to respond to recommendation—here's some video which shows architect Gene Kaufman explaining the plans: more ›

Williamsburg's Community Board 1, which you may recall as the group that wants to ban anything fun (namely, new liquor licenses and waterfront concerts), is at it again, putting the kibosh on rooftop and backyard bars in the neighborhood. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, a 34-year-old pregnant woman picking up one of her children from P.S. 298 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn was killed by gunfire from a rooftop. Zurana Horton apparently tried to shield the little ones near here; NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said, "Moments before, she was seen hovering over several children to protect them." [Update: The medical examiner says that Horton was not pregnant at the time of her death.] more ›

According to one resident, there has been a rash of rooftop break-ins in brownstones in Bed-Stuy. He wrote BedStuyBlog, "Just yesterday, we were burglarized by someone breaking through the entrance to our roof and literally taking our belongings, including a flat screen TV, out through the roof and over to a “safe house” a few doors down...I've heard that we were the latest in a line of victims." The crime statistics for Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct says that burglaries are down 25% from last year, with two in the past week and 70 in the year-to-date. Do those numbers count as a "rash"? more ›

The Parks Department is currently getting their green thumb dirty growing 16 types of rooftop gardens in the city. Their aim is to see which mixture of soil and plants will work most efficiently at cleaning the air, harvesting rainwater and cooling the building it sits atop, according to the Daily News. The 16 garden plots are all on a city maintenance building near the Triborough Bridge, but this spring the project will expand to 10 more rooftops throughout the city. Parks Department's Artie Rollins told the paper that a roof that used to be near 160 degrees on a summer day, is now cooler than the air. And Parks head honcho Adrian Benepe says, "It's spectacular. Right next to a major bridge, in the middle of the East River, you see a meadow that's attracting insects and bees and butterflies and birds" ... and pigeons? more ›

Earlier this week, the body of a three-year-old girl was found on a Brooklyn sidewalk. It was later determined that Kyrah Martin had somehow gotten onto her new apartment building's roof and fell four stories to her death. Now the Administration for Children's Service has taken Kyrah's three siblings away from her mother. more ›

After a three-year-old girl was found dead, face down in a snow bank, outside a Weeksville apartment building, the superintendent told WCBS 2 "that a video camera captured pictures of the little girl alone on the apartment complex's rooftop, without shoes, wandering toward the edge." The police believe Kyrah Martin's death was accidental, but the Daily News reports the Department of Homeless Services is investigating. more ›

With rooftop farms all the rage right now, it's nice to see the eco-trend has even made it over to the South Bronx. We're told "a new state of the art affordable housing complex planned for the South Bronx will feature a 10,000 square feet (930 sq meters) fully integrated rooftop farm. The greenhouse will use left-over heat from the residential portion of the building and water harvested from the greenhouse roof. The farm will be used to provide fresh, perishable vegetables to a local non-profit food cooperative." All in all, the farm will supply enough produce to meet the annual veggie needs of up to 450 people! A great thing in any neighborhood, but particularly the South Bronx, which we're told "suffers from food deserts, where residents lack access to fresh vegetables at affordable prices." Learn more about the urban farm here; that's one step closer to becoming the urban farming capital of the world! more ›

There's been excitement about the "waterfall shower" atop the roof of downtown luxury rental building, 200 Water Street—last month, Curbed quoted the press materials for the building that used to simply house NYU under- and post-grad students, "On the 33rd floor rooftop terrace - which is longer than a city block - tenants will enjoy chaises, card tables, cabanas with sunshades, a BBQ grill, WiFi access, vending machines and semi-private spaces. To cool off, residents can pull a chain off the roof's water tower to turn on a waterfall shower." more ›

Hudson Terrace: After operating as a private event space last year, this gorgeous bi-level aerie with the commanding Hudson River views opens to the public for the first time tonight with a Cinco de Mayo bash. Tented on rainy nights and featuring a heated floor to ward off any early-season chills, Hudson Terrace will now be doing happy hour parties on Tuesdays through Fridays, as well as Sunday brunch (from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.) with a menu from Vintage Irving's executive chef Jason Bunin. The happy hour deal is good for 2-for-1 specialty cocktails, and an extensive nightly appetizer menu includes duck confit quesadillas, crab and artichoke croquettes, and smoked salmon nachos. A rooftop BBQ grill will also round out the edible options (tempura chicken skewers, anyone?), while beverages run the gamut from wine and sangrias to margaritas, mojitos, and caipirinhas. Or just get two Jim Beams and Coke for the price of one and savor the sunset. 621 West 46th Street, (212) 315-9400 more ›

A Bronx neighborhood was shocked by the discovery of human remains on the roof of an apartment building. Acting on a family's missing person report for their daughter, the police headed to an apartment on Marion Avenue in the afternoon and found blood in the bathroom. Then, WCBS 2 reports, "Police found [a] woman's burned body on the roof, there was no attempt to conceal it and that the arms and legs of the unidentified victim had been cut off and removed from the scene. So far, the limbs have not been recovered by crime scene technicians." It is feared the missing woman, Paulemont Manuella, and the murder victim are the same person. The police took the missing woman's boyfriend in for, per NY1, violating an order of protection against Manuella. One resident told NY1, "I'm sad. Something like that shouldn't happen to any human being. Regardless of how much you despise them or have problems or relationship issues or whatever." more ›

If you're wondering what the hell's going on in Hell's Kitchen right now, reader Ed writes in to tell us that around 12:45 p.m. the water tower on top of the now defunct Sony Studios building on 54th & 10th, blew over. more ›

Two years ago Studio B promised/threatened to bring Miami to Greenpoint, and for better or worse, the venue/club/bar has delivered ever since. Currently they're raising the bar by creating a palm tree adorned rooftop oasis -- and the neighbors are just thrilled. more ›

Add a koi pond, some palm trees and a wood patio to a New York roof, and you probably get to raise the drink prices by a few bucks (see: The Delancey). Add those things (minus the koi pond) to your Greenpoint venue, and maybe people will start going (see: Studio B). more ›

Jeff Koons' rooftop installation at The Metropolitan Museum opened today, featuring three stainless steel sculptures with transparent colored coatings. The three pieces are Balloon Dog (Yellow), Sacred Heart (Red/Gold), and Coloring Book, the last being the representation of a sloppily colored-in illustration of Piglet, from the Winnie the Pooh series. more ›

The owners of the rooftop Ronald McDonald have stepped forward! We received the following email today from one of them (Ali), telling us:

That's my apartment featured in your Ronald McDonald story; it actually was not stolen; my roommate [Michael] saved it from McDonald's garbage one night and then lugged it up five flights of stairs. He's a hero if you ask me.

A McDonald's on the corner of 56th and 8th in Manhattan is missing a Ronald -- but an aerial view of the area shows him safe and sound lounging on a private rooftop. Williamsboard posters report, "someone who lives in the six-story building next door took advantage of a second floor window that lets them out onto the McDonald's roof...". more ›