Outdoor Absurdity of the Week

Everybody needs sunshine. And apparently there isn't enough to go around. Outdoor space commands a premium in the high-end market. New condos boast of private decks, exclusive rooftops and cloistered balconies from which you can survey the city like Bruce Wayne (the Michael Keaton Bruce Wayne, not the George Clooney Bruce Wayne). If you ascribe New York's outdoor thrills to joining the daily commute/freelance/panhandle ballet, grow up. Outdoor amenity is about being alone.

Consider 154 Attorney Street, the latest bauble to sprout on the "prime" Lower East Side. You can score a two-bedroom there for $1.15 million. All shareholders can prowl 2000 square feet of roof, but an extra $75-100k buys a private rooftop "cabana" complete with fences, locks, water, electricity and-most important-another chance to hide from unsought humanity.

Maybe buyers meditate. Or never know when they might really need to scratch.

Broker Rob Gross, who takes credit for the idea, describes the "cabanas" as nuggets of "penthouse experience" and says he's exporting them to a new building on West 46th and beyond. He predicts resale value as buyers accouter: "Why not put up lanterns and umbrellas?" Or SurroundSound, so you can't hear the bubble pop?