The newest reason to drop by Lincoln Center debuted yesterday — in the form of an elevated, sloping lawn.
Sunbathers and picnickers alike sang the praises of the 7,203-square-foot Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Lawn, on West 65th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, as they sat or walked on the green oasis that slopes down to the Paul Milstein Pool and Terrace.
“It’s awesome,” declared Rahsaan Chisolm. “I decided to come from SoHo for the lawn’s opening. It’s a really cool design. It’s funky. I came here to sunbathe.”
Jazz banjoist Cynthia Sayer, soaking in some rays with a friend, said, “The angle of the lawn is really great. This is creative and wonderful. I live in the neighborhood. One of my first thoughts was: ‘Wow, if this is open at night, we could come and be in a safe space.’ ”
The lawn covers the roof of a new two-story building expected to house a film center and a restaurant overseen by chef Jonathan Benno.
The lawn, which features a turf-type, tall fescue grass with some Kentucky bluegrass thrown in, made its public bow along with several other newly designed public spaces and will be open from 7 a.m. to midnight from April through November.
Sorry, dog lovers, but Fido’s not allowed.
That’s OK with artist Shobha Ranganath, 31, and her son, Kelanu, 7, who happily shared a picnic.
“This is a perfect nighttime concert spot,” she said. “We used to picnic sitting on steps . . . How nice it is to picnic on grass.”