Stephen Creagh Uys tells us what it was like to stay here at the Hotel Chelsea back in the late 80s. He also shares a ghost story.
What do you do?
I am a novelist, my latest book is The Last Generation of Chainsmokers.
It has been described as a cross between Catcher in the Rye and Leaving Las
Vegas. It takes place in the East Village in the art years.
How long did you stay at the Chelsea?
I stayed there for a couple of months in 1987 0r 88. I can't recall.
What inspired you to move into the Chelsea?
I was broke and I had hooked up with this girl from Washington who was
buying a condo. While she waited for it to close etc, she got a room in the
Chelsea for three months. It came through in two days and lo and behold I had a
squat.
Do you think there is a creative energy in the Chelsea?
Yes. I was an excited twenty two year old. I would drink at the white
horse, go to the lions head and pass out in the Chelsea. I was living the
alcoholic dream of a young writer. The Chelsea had a magic that was undescribable.
How has living in the Chelsea affected your creative development?
It has added to my personal mythyology. It is part of the rites of passage I
endured while becoming a writer.
What other creative people at the Chelsea or elsewhere have influenced your development?
So many. Keroauc. Bukowski. Fitzgerald. Satre. Basquiat. Iggy. H.G. Wells.
Who is the most famous person you’ve ever ridden with in the Chelsea elevator?
Andy Warhol, almost. see below.....
What’s the best/worst thing that has ever happened to you at the Chelsea?
I was living there the week Warhol died. It was all over the papers and as I
staggered upstairs two days after he died, there he was resplendent in a black
turtleneck. I freaked out and ran to get my girl and call the desk. All he said
was "hello dahling." Ghost story. Not quite. It turned out that one of new yorks
best known Warhol impersonators was also living there, and he had been
booked solid all week doing andy grams or whatever. I will never forget this
event!
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