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In the city, backyards are a bit of a novelty. So, when throwing a Brooklyn BBQ one must get a little creative.

It’s a good thing this isn’t our first rodeo.

For me, having rooftop access trumps a backyard any day. I love the ability to head to the roof, soak up the sunlight, and chill – something I do almost everyday. It’s hard to beat rooftop yoga and meditation.

Last year we had our first Brooklyn rooftop BBQ and it was excellent. Good friends, good food, and even a little kiddie pool to keep the drinks cool. But the good times were actually cut short by the rain and a lightning storm.

This year I wanted to step up my game a little. We upgraded the pool to V2. Setup two grills, added our own game of corn hole, rented more chairs, had louder music and of course invited more awesome people.

For me, The best way to survive living the city life is by “Having only the things you need and nothing that you don’t.”

Everything else is either rented or borrowed. However I like to use the term “rented” very loosely.

Sure the tables and chairs were actually rented from a party shop. But corn hole? I pulled an Apache switch, which is when you combine the ol’ craigslist flip, Buy on CL, use once, sell on CL but you add some profit and sell it for more than you bought it for.

That my friends, is my favorite way to rent.

Ingredients for a kickass Rooftop BBQ

 

Rooftop Access

Cornhole

Blowup Pool

Caution Tape

Umbrellas

Tables and Chairs

Hand Grilled Food

Deep Beer Selection

Good Friends

Great Music

Gorgeous Sunny Day

No Stress

The pool however, was worth keeping and passing onto my nephews and nieces.

This pool was a bit bigger than last year so we had a bit of a challenge filling it. Last year we carried 13 gallon trash cans full of water up the stairs. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a challenge as much as the next person, but I’m also a big advocate of working smarter not harder. Instead of trash cans, I decided to give the hose a try.

Obviously a normal faucet couldn’t push water up to the roof but luckily my tub didn’t have just an ordinary faucet. This super faucet’s water pressure had no problem sending water up to fill the pool.

As the pool filled, Ryan, Mike & I made a quick caution tape run around the perimeter and were set. When you have a rooftop party 5 stories up, you don’t take any chances.

While we were busy setting the stage, Josh, Grill Master #1, was putting the finishing touches on his grilled chicken strip recipe. Care & Olivia finished filling the coolers with the rest of the food and we were just about ready to light up the grill.

We had just about everything we needed for an excellent time. Just crank up the music and let the story unfold.

Highlights

These are just a few of my favorites

View the Full Gallery and Download Photos Here

The PixelStick

 

This was the first time I had a chance to play with a new kickstarter toy. After the sun went down I broke out the PixelStick – a LED light stick for long exposures.

It was a blast playing with it and the shots turned out pretty awesome. Though next time I’ll have to use a flash so our faces aren’t so morphed .

To end the night we setup the projector and watched a movie until we all crashed.

And that my friends is about all I have to say.

For now…

JJ

Other Perspectives

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