Whenever I’m checking out the view from someone’s roof around here, I marvel at how many of the roofs aren’t activated, to use a bit of contemporary jargon. Suzannah Vanderbush felt the same way about the roof at her building, 53 N. Moore, so she put her landscape-design skills to work (with the condo board’s blessing, of course). The deck is a work in progress, but Vanderbush kindly invited me up for a peek.

The building goes through to Hudson to the east and Beach to the north, with the deck atop the sixth-floor part along the north side. Several apartments have private decks carved out—a blessing, in that the deck is organically broken up into nooks, allowing for relative privacy. There are currently four main seating areas, with more likely to come.

To the southeast, you get a striking view of 56 Leonard; to the northeast, the mesmerizing flow of traffic exiting the Holland Tunnel.

And to the northwest, there’s a quality ogle of the south side of 7 Hubert. And then I zeroed in on 53 Beach, at the northwest corner of Collister (where the Montessori School of Manhattan used to be). From this angle, it appears to be getting renovated top-to-bottom (along with the new topper that’s been in the works forever). The word of late has been that it’ll be either another school or a WeWork.

Taking a break from the views, let’s admire more of the seating areas. The lights are solar-powered and on timers, so they come on automatically as dusk settles in.

Turning to the west, I enjoyed recognizing the private roof deck at 60 Beach next door—I know the previous owners and had nice visits there. Beyond, you can see the new façade creeping up Citigroup’s 388 Greenwich. (Renderings of that project are here and here.)

I wish the next photo came out better, because looking down into the air shaft between the buildings on N. Moore and Beach was very interesting—some of the rear yards appear to be at basement level, while others are at street level. In any event, I did get a decent shot of the adjacent building’s shutters.

Look up and you see the World Trade Center towers and 111 Murray.

Vanderbush’s enthusiasm for the project was clear, and you can hire her to come and spruce your deck up: Her contact info is on her website. In the meantime, she’s working on the rest of 53 N. Moore—yes, there’s more to it, including the large area below. She said she’d love to make it a play area for kids or a miniature dog park; we agreed that the residents directly alongside it might have some concerns about that…. Either way, I look forward to seeing it when it’s done.

Previously:
••• 88 Greenwich
••• 50 Murray
••• 100 Barclay
••• 200 Chambers