They are jumping for joy.
To stave off the winter doldrums, New York adults are spending their nights creating a $20,000 house with a 70-foot-tall roof—no kids allowed.
Bounce Lounge opened atop the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg in December. While children are welcome during the day, after 6pm it’s adults only and the place has been most popular with 20 and 30 year olds looking for an alternative to traditional bars, clubs and restaurants.
“Seasonal depression is a big thing,” said Myya Martin, 30, who lives in Bushwick and works as an event coordinator. “Everybody knows that doing activities gets your endorphins up and stuff.”
Last Thursday night, she and a friend checked out the Bounce Lounge, which is perched atop the 23-story William Vale and boasts two slides and a ball pit. They were huffing and puffing by the end of their session. (Farmers pay $20 for 20 minutes on the inflatable.)
“I usually go to the gym in the morning, but I skipped it today because I knew I was going to be jumping around this bouncy house,” she said.
While she was initially worried about being outside on a cold night — temps were in the 20s — it wasn’t a problem.
“I’m exhausted and hot from dancing,” she said. “It’s snowing now and I’m not cold”
Whitney Green, 28, took her boyfriend to Bounce, looking to combat the January doldrums.
“We have been very bored this winter. We’ve been watching ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and we’re at number four, so that should tell you something,” she said with a laugh. “I wanted to do something fun and take a break from it.”
The jump turned out to be a huge turnoff.
“It’s so cute. You can jump around and see all the sights of New York City,” said Green, a 28-year-old who lives in Bushwick and works in financial services.
The idea for Bounce came to Marlene Leslie, Vice President of Food and Beverage for William Vale, after attending a birthday party with her 6-year-old that featured a bouncy castle.
“It’s just playful,” she said. “We want to give people a chance to be kids again.”
The hotel had been looking for something fun to do on its roof to replace the artificial ice rink it had in years past.
“Obviously, rooftops are very popular in the summer, but we wanted to take advantage of the real estate in the winter,” Leslie said. “We wanted something fun, quirky and playful for the neighborhood.”
Leslie sketched the design herself for the custom play structure. It’s white, “to look like a snow castle,” she said, and has walls high enough to protect jumpers from flying over the edge, but low enough not to obscure views.
“We don’t want to put anything on the roof that competes with the skyline,” Leslie said. “That’s the main attraction.”
After the dance, patrons can head to private heated houses or the rooftop bar to eat fondue ($44) and sip warm cocktails like the Double Cider ($22 with Patron reposado, Benedictine, Calvados, Punt e Mid and Spiced Apple Cider) and Sweater Weather. ($21 with Maker’s Mark, Clear Creek Cherry Brandy, Lo-Fi Dry Vermouth, Oloroso Sherry, Pecan and Grapefruit).
Last Thursday night, Bella Flanagan was about to order a drink before jumping in, but she couldn’t contain her excitement when she saw the house jump.
“I didn’t think it would be this big. It’s sick,” said the 28-year-old, who lives in Williamsburg and works in fundraising. “I wanted to dance as soon as I saw it.”
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Image Source : nypost.com