230 Fifth

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The staid marble lobby of the office building that was formerly the Victoria Hotel does little to prepare one for the scene on the 20th floor: If the 8,000-square foot room pimped out in walls of partitioned glass, dark op-art pile carpet, and purple fluorescent lights recalls Studio 54, it's because the former owner was the late art collector Steven Greenberg, who spared no expense in making it as lavish as his previous projects, the Roxy and the Palladium. The Sue et Mare couch came from Karl Lagerfeld's collection, and a maze of other low-to-the-ground loungers such as a kiss-shaped velour loveseat are similarly flamboyant. The skyline twinkles beyond floor-to-ceiling windows framed by white curtains, but the scene is even more impressive on the massive roof deck where an endless array of wood benches and sturdy garden chairs invite no less than 500 quitting-timers and night owls to take in unobstructed views of the Empire State Building to the north, the Met Life building to the east, and Jersey to the west. As the palm trees rustle and the old-fashioned cocktails kick in, you can easily imagine Don Johnson landing his helicopter near the stuffed zebra and cruising for foxy investment bankers. — Daniel Maurer — Daniel Maurer