This is Schiller's on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side. It is a really nice restaurant that has been around for many year and now, most of its clientelles are mostly young hipsters and tourists. The reason I took this photo was the flower boxes on the 2nd floor windows of the building. It is quite rare to see something like this in NYC because most buildings have strict rules about what you can and cannot do with the windows, especially if they are condo or a co-op buildings. The rule was instituted to precent flower boxes from falling and hitting someone on the street. In addition, the buildings prefer all their windows to look the same.
So do you have similar rules where you live?
19 comments:
Style and safety are certainly good reasons for clean windowsills, however, empty sills are the exception rather than the rule in most European cities and towns.
Oh yes, we have, but I live in a house and I always have window boxes full of flowers all along the year! Don't worry, only on the first floor!
I always find buildings more beautiful when they are decorated with flowers.But I agree with the american rules : buildings are so high that it could be really dangerous to do what you want.
In France, you are allowed to get flowers on the front of the buildings but you cannot put your drying clothes on the front. you must put them on the back.
In Italy, if there were no clothes drying between the buidinngs, streets wouldn' be the same...
Nice photo Ming...I zoomed in to take a closer look at the wooden flower box and low and behold I could see the fire escape on the side of the building, much to my surprise. I remember them from my summer living there....only in New York :) Your city is abundantly alive with so many interesting things....No restrictions apply in our little coastal village....flower boxes everywhere..
I would have thought they could solve the falling window box problem by now! Like Chuck said, they are all over Europe. Oh, well. In Mendocino county people can, and do, grow just about anything.
Ming, I've chosen a photo for you tomorrow, if you want to come and see it.
You're right it is rare to see flower boxes on the window sills.
Paz
Nope no such rule for me. Btw this is a pretty stupid rule: first, for the safety issue I totally second uselaine and second, for the uniformity, I'd vote for a mismatched "flowered" building vs. a bare one any day. If they are so preoccupied by this aspect, why don't make sure every window is decorated the same way. It is pretty easy to do: provide each apartment with the approved flower box. Aren't this what those old ladies in the coop board are for? And the charges we are paying for?
Interesting about the windows. i had never thought about that before.
YES! We have CC&Rs in our subdivision. . .We all have the same mailboxes. . .Cannot change the color of doors, shutters without permission. . . .Cannot change out the windows unless they are the same as what was originally in the house (all the same in the SD). . . .Fences can be only these ugly wood things (and must be approved). . . No permanent structures, including basketball hoops. . .Even when we all had to have our roofs replaced because of the storms, we had to get permission. It's almost a police state! :-)
je ne connais pas, mais ce restaurant est en effet très mignon, il fait petit restaurant a la française. je note
I do not know, but this restaurant is very cute, it makes a small French restaurant. I note
No wash for drying on the outside of the buildings in Paris, flower boxes should be turned inside, not outside balconies (no risk to fall down on the street...). Most of the rules are applied.
I think flower boxes are a nice touch. I haven't see any around here as we have no buildings more than three stories tall that I know about.
Hey! Glad to see your blog is still doing awesome! Great stuff!
Phil
Very nice photo! The windows remind me of Hopper.
Great photo, Ming! Nice facade. I agree with that rule... it's really dangerous.
Nice shot!
I do love flower boxes but you're right. My co-op has those rules and they do make sense. Falling flower boxes can be dangerous.
Love the windows and the window boxes. I suppose you have so many laws cos Americans do seem to love litigation and I do see someone would sue for a large amount if they got hit on the head by a planter. (big grin)
And no, we don't have rules like that here - at least not that I've heard of. It's the boars we fight, not the laws! Only kidding - but we do have wild boars wandering about.
i see random and ghetto ass shit in my apt building all the time. i wish we had some rules!
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