I had never seen a plant like this so I had to take the picture. New York is cool and I thought this was something I would see in the south because of it's size and color. Now you know how much I know about plants.
I'm moving over so you can get into the same boat with me. I used to think I knew something about plants until I started posting here. I even posted a pic of (unbeknownst to me) silk flowers, thinking they were real..but enough about that. eh, Asrai and Smoosh? ...lol...But IMHO, and since I have lived in Phoenix during my travels, these do LOOOK similar to Hibiscus, but please don't hold me accountable if they aren't :) PJ
I think this IS hibiscus - similar to Polish holyhock [flowers] but different in respect to the leaves etc. What we need here is an opinion of an African expert because hibiscus should be from Africa ... or not ... LOL