Commenters on yesterday's post about the rooftop space for sale at new Williamsburg development LOFTS1 pointed out that Dumbo developer David Walentas was indeed the progenitor of the sale of separate rooftop space trend—though he did it at the Sweeney Building (30 Main) before blingin' the cabanas on the roof of 70 Washington. Still, this report of fireworks-watching from a 70 Washington cabana by blogger More Than Donuts strikes us as poignant:
I was standing next to two Canadians in a private, $200,000 roof top ‘cabana’ at 70 Washington. The infamous Real Estate developer David Walentas and his wife were standing to my right. The sky truly lit up with red, whites and blues from the fireworks and the views of lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge were stunning. Afterwards, we were asked to join the group downstairs for Veuve Clicquoit and blueberry pie. If you hadn’t guessed by now – this wasn’t our usual scene. 10 years ago I lived in DUMBO. There are not many things I can associate being ‘cool’ with before it was ‘cool’ but living in DUMBO Brooklyn 10 years ago before all of it’s development is one of them.
Click through for a brief history of the nabe, including this line: "If you wanted to reach us or come over for a visit- we didn’t have a door bell but rather a makeshift rig consisting of a large string of empty Café Bustelo coffee cans that ran off the roof and down the side of the building."
· Independence Day [More Than Donuts]
· On the Roof #2: Rooftop Floorplan Porn at LOFTS1 [Curbed]