This is the rooftop of my building. I come up here daily with my dog or friends to get 'fresh' air, see what's happening in the streets, or to catch sunsets and the occasional sunrise. My landlord has been trying for months to put a stop to our rooftop access, but every attempt he has made thus far has been futile.
Founded and designed by Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum preserves the working atmosphere of the artist's former studio in New York.
Dia:Beacon is a short train ride from the city in a former Nabisco box printing factory. This art foundation has 240,000 square feet of art from the 1960s to the present. Dia features the work of Sol LeWitt, Imi Knoebel, Andy Warhol, Dan Flavin, Agnes Martin, On Kawara, Bruce Nauman, and many others. I love going during the summer to enjoy the gardens surronding the building.
When I moved to NYC in the summer of 2009, my wife Hannah and I went straight to Central Park and the Belvedere Castle. It was the first time I fully grasped that I lived in New York and it felt euphoric standing on that hill. For me this place is still a romantic symbol and reminder of the spirit and essence of the city and the reasons I live here.