I was extremely excited to experience Magic Hour Rooftop’s Surf Club pop-up, and was deflated once I heard the event had been moved three weeks later, to the end of July.
As a man about this town I’ll be the first to tell you NYC’s nightlife has a new star: Vintage Green, the newest rooftop bar located at 303 Lexington Avenue atop The Shelburne Sonesta New York. On Tuesday, July 23, the much-anticipated launch party pulled out all the stops, offering guests a night to remember.
This summer, our one simple request is luxury—think: exquisite views, delectable spreads, and remarkable cocktails. The Balcón Rooftop at The Marmara Park Avenue hotel has all three, making for the most memorable nights.
The Knockturnal was recently invited to experience an evening at Glass Ceiling Nomad, a trendy restaurant located in the heart of New York City.
Spectacular sips with a stunning view are yours to have.
New York may be a long way from Kentucky, but Starchild Rooftop ensured that no one’s derby attire would go to waste! The rooftop was the ideal place to celebrate on Saturday, right in the heart of the city! Located at the Civilian Hotel in Hell’s Kitchen, the spot featured Mint Juleps, shareable cocktails, food specials, and Live Jazz at Rosevale Kitchen. 
I had the pleasure of visiting Slate’s new rooftop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and was able to enjoy premium access before it opened to the general public. Accessible through the Pod Brooklyn hotel, it offers a creative and modern take on the weary rooftop bar concept, and makes drinking amidst a New York breeze somehow feel new again.
Do you ever wish you could be whisked away on a fast, ferry ride to a rooftop lounge with magnificent, Manhattan and Hudson River views? Well, wish no more! The RoofTop at Exchange Place in Jersey City is just your place. The seven-minute NY Waterway ride from the Brookfield Ferry Terminal in lower Manhattan is followed by a quick walk to the spirited venue. The whole evening is an experience like no other!
I was greeted at the door and taken to the rooftop by elevator where another host welcomed me. I felt like I walked into a fun party with lots of different groups. The DJ was spinning lively pop, hip-hop and Top 40. The views of the Manhattan skyline and beyond were exquisite. Seeing the Statue of Liberty was an added plus!
What about the food? The official word: “The menu is inspired by regional American cuisine with strong Mid-Atlantic-New Jersey roots, showcasing local farms and artisanal products.”
I had the tasty burger sliders, while a friend enjoyed the spicy tuna with ponzu sauce and a crispy wonton. The Tuscan kale Caesar salad with a black, garlic crouton is another tapas bite. For the grande finale, the cast-iron, chocolate-chip cookie served with spumoni bomba, rainbow sprinkles and a sparkler can’t be beat!
Check out the summer signature cocktails. The green tea Long Island is made with vodka, gin, white rum, Amaro Nonino Quintessia, green tea lemonade and lemon simple syrup. The sexy Sicilian spritzer features Aperol, Prosecco and blood-orange soda. Mocktails are available on request.
What else sets the RoofTop at Exchange Place apart? The knowledgeable servers are among the friendliest I’ve ever met. The retractable roof and walls are made of glass, which is perfect for inclement weather. If you’re cold, you can warm up by the fire pit on the outside deck! Screen-printed wraps illustrating New York and New Jersey adorn the restroom doors.
An added bonus: on my ferry ride home, fabulous fireworks were going off next to the Colgate Clock.
I can’t wait to return to RoofTop at Exchange Place for another exciting escape!
Spicy Tuna: Photo Courtesy of RoofTop at Exchange Place
Sicilian Spritz: Photo by Laurie Heifetz
View from the Deck: Photo by Laurie Heifetz
Lead Photo and Instagram reels by Laurie Heifetz: @thetravelprose
rooftopxp.com
RoofTop at Exchange Place (located in Hyatt House, 1 Exchange Place, Jersey City, New Jersey
The Knockturnal checked out the beautiful, Somewhere Nowhere rooftop club last weekend. If you have never been check it out ASAP! The long weekend is still young!
Somewhere Nowhere NYC, a two-level indoor lounge and open-air rooftop pool venue, sits at the top of the Renaissance New York Chelsea Hotel located at 112 W 25th St, on the 38 and 39th floors. The 5,156-square-foot luxury day and nightlife destination is designed to artfully merge progressive sound and lighting technology with garden-inspired decor and magical design to indulge guests in an immersive nightlife experience. The decadence of Somewhere Nowhere’s outdoor lounge and open-air rooftop pool boasts 360 views of Manhattan’s majestic skyline as far as the eye can see.
The cocktail menu changes seasonally and features a mix of classic libations and expertly crafted cocktails that match the venue decor and escapism from the hustle and bustle of the city. On the food side, Somewhere Nowhere offers globally inspired comfort food dishes that are upscale yet approachable for all guests. Available on the After-Work menu to take off the edge, Late Night Food, or Nightlife Menu.
The Knockturnal was greeted by Nik, who was amazing and took us right up to the 38th to get our night started. THIS VENUE WAS STUNNING! It literally looked like we were in a fairytale!! OMG!! After being lost for words for about 5 minutes and trying to record the beautiful Instagramable establishment, Nik escorted us into the VIP section where we started the night with a couple of refreshing cocktails. After enjoying a few cocktails and a shot we went to the dance floor to jam out to the music @samblacky and @jacksonenglund were spinning! The rest of the night was filled with great vibes, amazing views of the city, and music that kept us moving and feeling alive!
The Knockturnal also had the pleasure to interview Nathan Leong:
The Knockturnal: Please tell readers about yourself.
Nathan Leong: I’ve always gravitated to the high-energy and fast-paced lifestyle of nightlife and hospitality. As an Asian kid growing up in Puerto Rico, I was able to stand out amongst my classmates. I was the kid who always threw parties and gravitated to a very active social life. When I moved to New York, I was quickly attracted to nightlife and the energy from the atmosphere and began co-producing VIP Table Decks for the main stage at Electric Zoo— the largest electronic music festival in New York. Growing a reputation in the industry and the right contacts to build a live music venue, I launched my hospitality group El Grupo SN with partner Sameer Qureshi to open the tallest nightclub, lounge and rooftop pool with Somewhere Nowhere. We wanted to create a venue that felt like an escape in all aspects from the decor, high tech sound system and location itself which is how the name was created— Somewhere Nowhere, you are somewhere but able to escape to be ‘in the moment’ or nowhere at the same time.
The Knockturnal: What makes Somewhere Nowhere more than a nightclub and music venue?
Nathan Leong: My partner Sameer Qureshi, and I have always said from day one that we are creating a lifestyle brand with Somewhere Nowhere NYC. Our goal is to expand our brand and experiences beyond one physical location and create memorable and intimate experiences within our ecosystem that will be made available in multiple destinations. Under one roof, we’ve expanded to offer events beyond nightlife by introducing Daylife for after-work events and the launch of our rooftop pool and new jazz programming on Wednesdays.
In addition, we’ve bridged the gap between the tech and hospitality communities through the launch of our NFT collection— The Somethings. Our membership-utility based NFT collection will offer royalty rewards, as well as will work towards becoming a household name in the lifestyle and entertainment world as a brand producing exclusive digital and IRL (in real life) experiences and brand activations that will unite our community in multiple cities. We recently launched our in-house creative Web3 studio, SWNW Lab to accomplish this – which currently has over 10,000 registrations for the NFT collection.
With The Somethings NFT project, our hospitality group can invite Somewhere Nowhere NYC’s community to embark on a journey from one physical location to a plethora of new experiences within our ecosystem in multiple cities and destinations.
The Knockturnal: Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nathan Leong: We’ve been fortunate to have the support of the community we’ve built over the years. It has helped make it a smooth road instead of launching Somewhere Nowhere and these new ventures without a base clientele. We have amazing support from everyone. The biggest challenge we’ve faced is growing and scaling while maintaining a level of top execution for events. That’s all part of growing pains and we’ve been fortunate to find top event planners who are stepping up to take on the new challenges as we continue to add new programming and expansions. Scaling your business is always the goal, so learning how to improve as you grow is a new set of exciting challenges that we’re ready to face.
The Knockturnal: What are you and your team most looking forward to in the future?
Nathan Leong: We’re excited to officially launch our NFT collection by SWNW Lab, The Somethings. This is a project that 3D motion graphic designer Matt Burniston and myself have been working on for the last five months. The team is excited for The Somethings NFTs to drop as it adds a new element of gamification to our everyday interaction with our clients. With ‘The Somethings’ we are able to add more experiences for our clientele that expands our ecosystem beyond Somewhere Nowhere NYC – such as token-gated pop-up experiences. The Somethings collection will be dropping this summer to offer customers special membership perks through their NFTs.
Now that it’s Summer and the weather is beautiful again, we have ramped up entertainment for Somewhere Nowhere with day life and afterwork programs being activated on both the nightclub and rooftop pool levels of the venue.
In addition, we’re expanding our El Grupo SN hospitality group this summer 2022 with our newest venue in Long Island City, Gamehaus NY. A multi-room concept as the largest family-friendly venue in New York.
You can follow Nathan Leong on Twitter or Instagram: @nathanleongnyc
Raise your glasses to summer.
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