by Paulette Licitra
by Paulette Licitra
But what about us city folk?
"You can't have a barbecue on the fire escape or the roof of a multiple unit dwelling building," said the New York City fire department representative as I grilled him on the rules of grilling in the city."You can barbecue in the rear of a multiple dwelling building, but no propane tanks are allowed close to the building. And when you barbecue in the rear of a multiple dwelling building smoke rises up, goes into the windows of other tenants, then you have complaints from people...I wouldn't advise doing it."
What about in the parks?
"Same charcoal guidelines like there are in any park. No propane, though."
Wow, I thought. We can barbecue in Central Park? Cool!
I called the Parks Department.
"The only place barbecuing is allowed in the city parks is Randall's Island," they said.
It's not allowed in Central Park at all?
"No. It's not." Click.
Oh. Well. Shot that fantasy to hell.
I don't know about you, but I've seen plenty of hibachis on fire escapes and rooftops (even though the fire department says...). And people do barbecue in "the rear of a multiple dwelling building," with smoke pouring into neighbors' windows. And I could swear there was a huge family reunion blasting salsa music and firing charcoal just last year in Central Park.
But I ain't telling.
After all, it's SUMMER, and grilled foods are the absolutely best tasting. I wrestle with my toaster all winter to get my measly toast to taste like bruschetta. I broil shish-kebabs in my oven to the tune of several smoke alarms. I almost moved to Santa Monica just to have more months with my grill.
My first apartment in New York was a tiny studio. The woman next door had her own tiny studio. We shared through our common wall all her frenetic phone conversations and an occasional howling love-making session. We also shared a fire escape.
