New Book Highlights Amazing Manhattan Rooftop Terraces and Gardens

As if we didn’t have enough to hate lucky New Yorkers living in fabulous upper East Side pied-à-terres and hip Tribeca lofts, now comes a book to show us yet another reason we’ll hate them even more. We’re kidding, of course, but not really. April 19th is the launch date of Rooftop Gardens: The Terraces, Conservatories, and Balconies of New York (Rizzoli New York, $45), a book that profiles “Manhattan’s most exclusive addresses and their private gardens for the first time ever!” Yes, this sounds like press release posturing, until you see these unbelievable green spaces in the urban jungle. What I like about the book is that it doesn’t bore you with long flowery prose. Written by Denise LeFrak Calicchio and Roberta Model Amon, the book gives you just enough pertinent information (in simple terms) to not put you to sleep and is illustrated with enough large images to keep you interested. But it also alerts you to the unfairness of the whole thing: these people get to live in one of the most vibrant cities in the world and they get private green spaces to boot! Take a look at some of the spectacular spaces below (click for larger images).