Hotelier Ira Drukier Returns to Chelsea Hotel Fold as Friend Rather Than Foe

Good to have you on board, Ira!  First Drukier—a partner in BD Hotels, which ran the Chelsea Hotel for 10 months—was quoted in Chris Shott’s article in the Observer as saying that the only man who could run the Chelsea Hotel is Stanley Bard.  Now, in the Independent, he points out that, as Legends has said before, what BD was trying to do was to bring the building up to code, including registering tenants with the DHCR so that their rent could be collected legally (and, of course, so they could be legally evicted).  (Marlene didn’t appreciate BD’s slow, methodical, legal plan, wanting to move faster, so she fired them.)  Also:

Drucker [sic] is so concerned about the hotel’s physical structure that he dares to give disgruntled residents such as Hamilton some advice: "They should get themselves a lawyer, because that place could be a lawsuit waiting to happen," he says. "They wouldn't have to pay rent ever."

Thank’s Ira.  I myself already have a lawyer, as do 40 or more of the tenants of the Chelsea, and we are pressing our cases in court.  But your advice remains good for the rest of the Chelsea’s tenants, who, for whatever reason, have not yet contacted an attorney.
     Though in the past, Ira, we have had a bit of fun at your expense on the blog, we have an enemy in common now, and perhaps between us we can throw enough fuel on the fire to burn the evil witch Marlene Krauss at the stake. -- Ed Hamilton  (As of press time, Ira Drukier had not responded to our request for a comment.)