Gramercy

So you want to have an affair, but the goddamn paparazzi won’t leave you and your lover alone. What to do?

Step into the Gramercy Park Hotel, head for the private elevator, and jet up 16 floors to Ian Schrager’s new playground, the Private Roof Club and Garden. First, though, book a room or know (or be) somebody: The warren of sunrooms and bars is restricted to overnight guests and high-priced private parties.

If you get in, mellow out in the soft candle light amid plush furniture and a jungle of foliage that claims citrus trees, orchids and ivy among. Gaze upon original pieces by Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst; and, in one room roasted by a working fireplace, gander at a display of 1,000 light bulbs overhead.

There’s a wide view of chunks of midtown and the East Side (the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building stand out). And there’s… well, why bother going on? You probably can’t get in. (Good luck, though.)  read more »

“This is not a building opening—it’s just a party,” said luxury-property propagandist Michael Shvo.

He was standing along a black carpet runway with black velvet ropes and a big white backdrop bearing logos for the new Gramercy, a 21-story high-end apartment tower on East 23rd Street outfitted by eccentric French designer Philippe Starck.  read more »