Jwilly's "Rich People Rooftops NYC" Flickr set collects images of posh, elaborate rooftop gardens over the penthouses of New York. Rich People Rooftops NYC (via Kottke)

  • Anonymous

    In the past few days, a few articles have been popping up on this topic.

    you could comb through flickr for rooftops or you could use live.com’s bird’s view for places like new york which is way more fun.

    also, a recent topic (8.6.08) is about using these tools to monitor visual pollution in cities like San Francisco.

  • ec

    Wow, as a former New York rooftop gardener, I can attest to the number of images in this group that fall far from the “elaborate” efforts of “rich people” Comment #4 above hit the nail on the head… it’s all about the hardscaping. Schleping a folding chair and a beach umbrella up to the roof is not exactly lifestyles of the rich and famous . Some of these, with flooring and real furniture, speak of an investment beyond sweat equity, (and the one with the pool and play structure is obviously a roof deck for the entire building), but others have a lot moe in common with my old roof garden in the west 20′s. My neighbor and I (the only top floor tenants in an industrial building, siphoned our hose from one of the water towers, and grouped black plastic pots on old shipping pallets (to distribute weight). There were birch trees, lillies,climbing roses, and strawberries (growing in an old kitchen sink), all in the shadow of the Empire State Building. Strung with lights for a party, it could have easily fit into this set of pics, and we probably spent about $500 on it over the years.

  • GothamGardener

    Check out more great NYC rooftop gardens at http://www.amberfreda.com

  • insomma

    Not very good at hiding her contempt for the rich now is she?

  • Ethan

    Not every rooftop is a penthouse… some of those are probably communal space for the entire apartment building. In fact, that would be my guess for the one pictured above.

  • herbnhoe

    These ain’t no rich people gardens. I actually do this for a living in NYC and in the world of elevated outdoor spaces, those are poor people terraces and rooftops.

  • mmr

    Ethan is correct. Not every Penthouse has a roof top, and not every Penthouse is even a real Penthouse. (When it is a one bedroom on the top of the building called PH-6 you start to wonder what’s the point).

    However, Jwilly’s photo stream, as nice as it is, does not even touch upon REAL rich peoples terraces. There are several apartments in Manhattan where the apartment size is 1500 sqft with a terrace that is 1200 sqft which is just insane (not to mention not a great value considering you cannot reclaim any of that outdoor space.

    The fact of the matter is that as lush as these terraces are, the real ‘rich people terraces’ are surrounding Central Park and typically have prices which are well above $10 million.

  • Anonymous

    Not very good at hiding her contempt for the rich now is she?

    She must be, since I don’t see any contempt. She seems to be pretty impressed, since there are things like “my favorite!” or “my other favorite” or “an amazing space” as captions to the pictures.

    I don’t see contempt in these pics at all – care to point it out?

  • insomma

    @#4 The folder title? Why not label it ‘beautiful’ rooftop gardens, or ‘hidden’ or anything else other than ‘rich people’s'- just seemed unecessary to me- that’s all.

  • jdoscher

    I’m an amateur gardener, and I can tell you from a west-coast perspective that these are not very elaborate, aside from the real estate they sit on top of. Keep in mind the most expensive plant is about $200 on average (there are some very exotic ones out there, but not suited to be moved around much or survive NYC winters). In contrast, decent lawn furniture is quite expensive, with the one garden that has the “L” shaped sofa probably put down nearly $2,000US for it.

    I’d be more than a little perturbed if someone was taking photos of me in my garden- I go there to get away from the world.

  • Neon Tooth

    Good for them,
    It’ll help keep the buildings cooler (and the city) and prevent water runoff even if just a little..

  • Anonymous

    Google 66 Square Feet. She designs real rich people rooftops.

  • SeamusAndrewMurphy

    #7 is obviously an elitist and wishes to enrich himself(?) at the expense of us poor plebs. Shame on you for not exhibiting proper working-class humble-bumble.

    You have spent $500 aggrandizing property! Luxury has no place in rooftop-critique-article commentary!

    You must inhabit below-subway-station-cellar-dwelling to instill correct attitude toward roof enrichment entitlement!

    Rooftop collectives for all!