Living with Legends: Hotel Chelsea Blog

Call for Artwork: Send Your Portfolios to [email protected]

Good News!  As reported last week in Chelsea Now's Buzz column, Andrew Tilley is going to revamp the Chelsea Hotel's official website so he can take over our job of publicizing the work of Chelsea Hotel artists. This really takes a load off of our shoulders, and we couldn't be happier, as now we can devote more time to writing fake letters from Marlene Krauss.  Thanks Andrew.

Portraits for Everybody

  Last Thursday's art show was a portrait filled occasion.  First off, Storme Delarverie, the honoree of the evening was given a portrait painted by Zito.  Secondly, our illustrious proprietor Stanley Bard was simarily honored with a portrait, this one painted by Steven Fisher. (By this point in time, Stanley probably has a whole closet full of portraits!) Stanley gave Storme a big bear hug.  "He's stronger than he looks," Storme said.  She said that she'd had many arguments with Stanley over the years but that they always made up and were friends afterwards.  She also said, we're like a big family here we fight amongst ourselves but no outsiders better come in here and mess with any of us.    The portraits were presented by the evening's emcee, Williamson Henderson, of the Stonewall Veterans Association.

     Not to be left out of the evening's festivities, David Elder commissioned his own portrait from Zito, who was sketching portraits for anyone who cared to pay and generously donating some of the proceeds to the Stonewall Veterans Association.

(photo by Lois Stavsky)

Thanks for Tipping Us

Rachel Cohen points us to an exhibit of Eugenie Gershoy's work which is on display through August 31st at the Fletcher Gallery located in Woodstock, New York. Gershoy is responsible for the fabulous "Pink Lady on a Swing" which hangs from the ceiling of the Chelsea Hotel lobby. (Photo: Sarah E. Dewar's flickr)   

The Pink Lady is by Renate Goebel. Eugie Gershoy's work is the papier maché portrait figures hanging above the telephone booths.

Judith Childs writes to tell us about a new song inspired by the hotel.  So, check it out!  Judith writes: "Billy Squire dreamed about the Hotel Chelsea for years and ever since I took him up to the roof some years ago to play his guitar atop the hallowed halls, he has returned, from New Zeland, to stay here, to play here and compose his dreams.  He just sent me a dvd of his new album which you can find by going to www.billysquire.net and then to Listen to Album.  "Chelsea Dreams" is seventh down the list."

Robert Shaw clues us in that a fellow Aussie stopped by the Chelsea. "Paul Capsis, a unique [to engage an over used word] Aus cabaret / theatre / singer performer has paid a visit to the famed Chelsea Hotel.  He's currently playing Riff Raff in a brilliant production of Rocky Horror here- a role way way beneath his capabilities.  Amongst Paul's talents he 'channels' dead divas including a remarkable Janis."

Cindy Gallop sends greetings along with a link to a piece in the Guardian featuring writer Joe O'Neill and family.

Got Tips: Send them to chelblog at yahoo dot com

Chelsea Hotel Tenant Wins Rent Stabilization

Good news on the legal front.  Another two tenants have had their apartments acknowledged as Rent Stabilized.  The one case I am at liberty to talk about is Jim Georgiou’s, though the other tenant’s case had a similar resolution.

            Everybody knows Jim: he’s that  guy with dark hair and a small mustache who often wears a porkpie hat, and can be seen daily walking his big, friendly black and white dog, Teddy.  Jim, who has lived at the hotel for 6 years, is a specialist in a form of the ancient Chinese healing art that some call Qi-Gong (Jim calls it something else that I can’t pronounce).  Jim has been under the weather lately, suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, among other ailments, and so fell behind in his rent.  (In the past, on another occasion when he fell behind due to illness, the Bards let him slide for awhile, and he was able to repay the debt in full once he recovered.  In other words, he’s not some slacker; he’s able to make good money in his profession.)

            Although Jim received assurances from hotel management that his case was not yet critical, a few weeks back they sprung a surprise on him, taping a notice to his door telling him he had three days to pay or be evicted.  Luckily, Jim was able to scramble and come up with the money in time.  On Thursday, August 21, when he went down to housing court, a representative of the hotel’s law firm, Belkin Berdin,     granted him a discontinuance, which means they are dropping the eviction proceedings.  (They could have sent Jim this document earlier, or just told him over the phone, but they made him come all the way down to Centre Street, either hoping that he wouldn’t show, or else just to inconvenience him.)

            The ironic thing about the case is that, in order to file eviction papers against Jim, hotel management had to first register his apartment as Rent Stabilized with the DHCR.  (The strategy was to evict him and then convert the room to transient use, thus legally deregulating the room.)  So, by not paying, Jim has ended up in much better shape now than he was before!

            This is not to say that you shouldn’t pay your rent; everyone should pay their rent except on the advice of an attorney.  But withholding rent is turning out to be one way of forcing hotel management to address the issue of Rent Stabilization.  (The other case I referred to was settled in the same way: the tenant withheld rent; management registered the room as rent stabilized; and then the tenant simply paid the back rent.) 

An even more important lesson to be learned is that hotel management is, at present, only going after tenants who are not represented by a lawyer.  Neither of these tenants had legal counsel at the time they were served with eviction papers (Jim received some legal advice before he went to court).  What’s more, there are two other Chelsea tenants in housing court at the present time, and neither of them had counsel either when they were served with eviction papers (one has since retained counsel). -- Ed Hamilton

Chelsea Community Saddened by Tragic Death

     It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Angela O'Conner, 46.   As reported in The Daily News she was discovered lying face up on her bed in a 9th floor apartment here at the Chelsea Hotel.  Our heartfelt condolences go out to Ms. O'Conner's family for their loss.  Although we personally did not know the deceased we are sure that she had many friends at the hotel who will miss her.   
     Angela was discovered lying in bed sometime on Friday afternoon (not, as the Daily News reported after 8:00 p.m.). She had apparently been dead for a number of days.  Manager Andrew Tilley informed us that although the room Angela was found in was that of a permanent resident, he did not believe that she lived there. (That contradicts what was said in the Daily News.  We ourselves are not sure of her residential status. ) The case has been turned over to the medical examiners office, who will determine the cause of death.

Kyle and the DonJon Pranksters Stop by the Chelsea Hotel

In route from Nashville Tennessee to the DNC, former Chelsea Hotel resident Kyle Taylor brought his DonJon platform to the streets of Chelsea for a few hours yesterday.  Lots of people happily jumped on the bus for the Last Great American Road Trip. It remains to be seen if they'll make it to the DNC.  If you spot DonJon in your town send us some pics.

The Bus.
 

Vote for DonJon!

Robert Lambert may or may not be convinced that DonJon is the man.

Ed jumps/falls off of the back of the bus. (Nice photo Robert)

Bettina tagged the bus.

The bus pulls out with a message of hope!

New Hotel Chelsea Director of Operations is a Restroom Specialist

     If you've been having leaky faucets and clogged toliets, you can rest easy now beleagered Chelseaite, for your problems are about to be solved.  Our new manager, Andrew Tilley, has just hired Arnold Tamasar as Director of Operations of our budding boutique hotel. 
     Tamasar, who inherits Glennon Travis's old title, was previously Assistant Director of Housekeeping and Style at the W New York Times Square Hotel, in which capacity he received the prestigious Kimberly-Clark Award for Restroom Ambiance and Cleanliness.

"...At the W New York Times Square Hotel, the ambiance is just as exquisite. The style is rather uniform for warmth and color, says Arnold Tamasar, the assistant director of housekeeping and style at the hotel.

The restrooms overflow with greenery. There are three tiers of wheat grass, Egyptian green limestone and white oak doors with gingko leaves embedded in the frosted glass. For special occasions such as weddings or wine tastings, the hotel adds an extra touch by providing a restroom attendant to hand out towels."
     I can't wait.  “Consistency is very important,” says Tamasar. “We clean religiously.”  Well that sounds great.  But the most pressing question remains: can he keep the junkies out? 

(Photo: Our Friends over at Hotel Chatter)

The Spirit of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Lives on at The Chelsea

     When we asked Chelsea Hotel historian Sherill Tippins for a ghost story for Halloween, she sent us this essay by by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.  Flynn, a labor activist and women's rights advocate who worked for the IWW and helped found the ACLU, was national chairperson of the U.S. Communist Party, while she was at the Chelsea Hotel.  Sherill writes:

"...here's an article from Elizabeth Gurley Flynn that you might be able to use on the blog sometimes. It was published in the Daily Worker in 1939, when Flynn had returned to NYC from a retreat of many years to the West Coast. It seems she stayed briefly at the Chelsea around this time while looking for a permanent place to stay.  Then she moved back to the Chelsea permanently in the 1960s, where she began writing her memoirs, as she predicts in this essay:"

"I Like a Hotel," Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Sunday Worker, Feb. 19, 1939:

            "When a committee puts me up at a hotel, I don't say 'Bourgeois,' scornfully. Not me! I luxuriate, because it doesn't happen often. I think 'Well, this is a sample of the future, what every woman ought to have, a room to herself and release from domestic tasks." I hope to see the day we banish washtubs, kitchen stoves and straw brooms to the museum, as relics of the past.

            It's a grand feeling for a woman (I can't speak for the men) to get up in a warm room, no worry about the furnace; get dressed in your street clothes, not in an apron or housedress, go down to a breakfast you didn't cook. I return to a well-stocked desk, pen, ink, writing stationery. This has a little house on it, 'Where Washington refused a crown, 1776' (Newhigh, N.Y.). It inspires me to write.

            The telephone doesn't ring incessantly, no doorbell, bill collector, laundryman, grocer, or peddler interrupts my thoughts. No lunch to worry about. (Is there bread in the house? Is the sugar all gone?) The bed is unmade—at home I'd stop to tidy my room before I start to write. My mother used to laugh when I'd clean the apartment, then rush to my desk and say, 'Now I must get to work!'

            In a hotel room I read the Daily Worker and the Times thoroughly. I collect my thoughts.  I do some neglected reading. I work on a special article. I get an early start on the column. I catch up on my correspondence and surprise my friends with letters. I do my work.

            Somebody else will make the bed and wash the dishes. Service in a well-run hotel is professional, not menial. Work in homes is amateur by comparison. You can eat in the restaurant or in your own room. This room is clean, comfortable, yet bare of non-essentials.

            I see lots of old ladies in hotels. People pity them. It's quite unnecessary. They enjoy it immensely. It's a sort of 'sit-down strike.' Many say frankly they are tired of households.

            They don't want a place where the grandchildren are parked. Lots of grandmothers feel that way. Few can afford to avoid it. These always look happy, like little grey pussy cats, purring with contentment. They read, go to shows, play bridge—all the things they wanted to.

            It's the way all old people should be able to live out their last years. Today it's only possible for a few. A comfortable hotel is a glimpse of the future rest homes for the aged and for mothers, when capitalism is no more. How heavenly it would be fore tired, overworked mothers! It gives us another incentive to socialize the world.

            If I ever actually write the story of my life I think the publishers will have to stake me to stay at a quiet hotel. Page the International Publishers!"

No, it's not too scary, is it?  The scary thing is how many times Flynn was thrown in jail for sticking up for her beliefs.  But America (and the Chelsea) wouldn't be the land of freedom it is today without the sacrafices that Flynn and others like her made for us.  Where is she in these troubled times when our home is being threatened?  Surely Flynn's spirit still walks these halls.  Maybe we can hold a seance.  Ed Hamilton

King of the Chelsea: Storme DeLarverie to Be Honored

The Chelsea Hotel Grand Ballroom will be the scene of a grand evening of art in honor of legendary resident Storme DeLarverie. Stormé Delarverié is a  87-year-old former cross-dressing torch singer, gay rights activist and one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet.  Here's how Storme told me her story.  “I’ve got a story!” Stormé exclaimed, “I chopped off my hair, put on men’s clothes, and joined the Jewel Box Review!”  The Jewel Box Review was a multi-racial drag revue that toured the country in the fifties, sixties and seventies.  The only female member of the troupe, Stormé served as stage manager, musical arranger, emcee and “mother” of the troupe for fourteen years.  (Portrait of Storme by Anthony Zito)

Chelsea Hotel artist Susan Olmetti, who organized the evening, along with other Chelsea Hotel residents and artists, is donating one of her vibrant whimsical paintings (5' x 5' acrylic on canvas), titled "Mr. Minkel", for sale at the art show with the proceeds to the non-profit Stonewall Veterans Association.   Another painting, a specially commissioned tribute portrait of Storme is by acclaimed artist Anthony Zito.  That intuitive painting is being presented as a gift to Storme. During the three-hour soiree, Zito will apply his artful mastery to paint his critically acclaimed 7-Minute Watercolor Portraits - a signature quick-draw style, of anyone who is willing. Portraits painted at the event will be available for sale that evening.  Works by photographers Lisa Ackerman and Sam Bassett will also be on display.  Music will be provided by Tsakwe Ibrahim.

Additionally, according to Ms. Olmetti, Stanley Bard will be presented with a portrait in appreciation of his support of the arts.  The portrait was painted by Steven Fisher.

Stop by the Chelsea Hotel Grand Ballroom from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., Thursday, August 21. 
The Chelsea Hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street.  The closest subway stops are the "1", "C", "E", "F" and "Q".  Times are symbolic from "6" to "9" p.m. as in Stonewall '69.  On display (shown below with Storme) will be the 1969 "Stonewall Car".  To r.s.v.p., please telephone Storme's "Baby Boi" AnDre Christie at (212) 627-1969.  Beverages will be provided by Drink Purple.

Stefan Brecht & Legends Contribute to Ph.D Thesis

The rewards of blogging are few and insubstantial.  So it's satisfying when we get feedback like this.

Dear Ed

Just a quick note to say I've just finished reading your book about the Chelsea and really enjoyed it! I also read Joe Ambrose's tome and that was enjoyable too.

On my first visit to the US in 1997 I visited the Chelsea but couldn't afford to stay. Me and my travelling companion were on a really tight budget. We did however, get to stay in the apartment building on Bleeker Street that Gregory Corso was born in, which was a thrill.

I've just got my PhD and part of my thesis was about the Flaneur. I mention Stefan Brecht's 8th Avenue poems (which are fantastic) and argue that Brecht was practicing Flanerie when walking to the Chelsea and his writing room. So thanks for pointing me in the right direction (I read about Brecht on your blog!)

Hope things are going OK at the Chelsea. Who knows? I may get to stay there one day...

kind regards

Andrew Taylor

I wrote about Stefan Brecht's dual poetry and photography book for this blog and for Chelsea Now and The Villager back in April 2007.   I was quite excited by Brecht's project, and it seems at least one corner of academe was as well.  (Photo: from Stefan Brecht's book, "8th Avenue".)

Chelsea Hotel Brain Trust Drops Ball on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Big news: an annex of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is set to open in Soho!  It will of course feature exhibits devoted to several former Chelsea Hotel residents, such as Bob Dylan and the Ramones, and will even include an interactive map of musically significant spots in New York—and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what the most important location on the map will be. 

But then I started thinking: Soho?!?  Why, the Hall should be right here where it belongs in the Chelsea Hotel.  The Capitol Fishing space has been empty for two years now; what else are they saving it for?  Tilley could have the Hard Rock Hotel he’s been dreaming of, and I’ll bet Dan would sell ten times as many guitars.

            Yes indeed, Rockers, this could have been the solution to all our problems.  With an admission price of $26 a pop, Tilley wouldn’t have to kick residents out on the street to make ends meet.  It’s another way to rip off the tourists, but so what?  They would just waste their money on golf (if they could find a place to play in Manhattan) and bad theatre anyway.

            It would have been great.  But, as usual, our fearless leaders have dropped the ball on this one as well.  Shame on you, Marlene.  I don’t know if we would have had room for Springsteen’s 1957 Chevy anyway.  Maybe we could have rented a crane and hauled it up to the bar on the roof.  Sid—and Nancy too--must be rolling over in their graves. -- Ed Hamilton

Dainty Adore at The Coney Island Mermaid Parade

The end of summer is quickly approaching and the future of the Chelsea Hotel and Coney Island are still uncertain.  Former Chelsea Hotel resident Dainty Adore  takes us back in time to the Fourth Annual Mermaid Day Parade.   After Danity performs her quirky set she provides a tour of the boardwalk and amusement park.

(Video by Nelson Sullivan)

Golf, Sport of the Suburbs, Supplants Art at the Chelsea

Reverend Jen, who has an open mike reading series on Ludlow Street and runs a trolll museum, is a crusader against the gentrification—and the stupification--of the Lower East Side.  I remember reading in Rverend Jen’s book (Really Cool Neighborhood, Printed Matter Inc., 2003) awhile back about how for her the final straw was when she saw somebody go into her building carrying golf clubs.  When she witnessed this abomination it actually caused her to vomit.

Well, I saw somebody check into the Chelsea with some golf clubs the other day, and that’s about how I felt too.  He had come from Florida to play golf in Manhattan. The Chelsea was able to hang on a few years longer than that larger and even more essential bastion of Bohemianism, the LES, but the end result is shaping up to be even more sickening.

Now, I don’t know where the best place in the country to play golf is, no doubt in some suburb somewhere, but I do know the absolute worst place: Manhattan !  What the hell was this guy doing, hitting balls off the roof?!  This is the kind of guests we have to get used to now, with the new management.  (And lately, these clueless assholes have had the gall to complain about us!  Increasingly, we’re being treated like second class citizens in our own home.) 

Let’s get something straight golfers: you’ve got the burbs, which you created in your image; isn’t that enough?  Don’t you get it?  We came here to get away from you.  We’re even willing to pay for your cut-rate mortgages that you can’t afford!  Please, we beg of you, just go back!

Anyway, Reverend Jen, with things even worse on the LES now than when you wrote your book five years ago, I hope you’re able to keep down the occasional Budweiser and slice of pizza. -- Ed Hamilton

HAIR to Stay Around A Little Longer

According to newyorkology.com "Hair" will run for one extra week in Central Park.  If you don't want to wait all day to get tickets you can always climb to the top of  Belvedere Castle and enjoy the songs perfectly fine though the view is obstructed to say the least. The connections between the Chelsea Hotel and "Hair" are so numerous that we could never untangle them all, but for starters former resident Milos Foreman directed the movie and Galt McDermott wrote the music for the Broadway show.

This spring, former Chelsea Hotel resident and member of the original "Hair"cast, Sharmange Leland-St. John-Sylbert was in town for the 40th reunion of the original cast.  In 1966-67 Leland-St. John-Sylbert lived at the Chelsea Hotel, down the hall from Edie Sedgwick, in a small studio that was also used by a photographer as his dark room.  She talks a little about her experience at the Chelsea in this video. During her recent visit she chatted with us about the big fire of 1966.  According to Sharmange, one of the more memorable highlights was when the firemen broke through the floor while they were putting out the fire and spotted a stash of pot in the room below. The firemen call the police, which resulted in a couple of tenants getting arrested.   

Voodoo, Jungle Cats, Poetry & Communists Banned at Chelsea

It's worth pointing out -- even if it's rather obvious -- that the Chelsea Hotel would never have become the world renowned rebel mecca that it is (or was, if you prefer) if Stanley Bard had hired security guards to rid the Hotel of the weird and/or inebriated.  In response to a question from reader "Miss H" regarding whether the ban on gathering in the hallway would preclude the legendary staging of a scene from Aida historian Sherill Tippins writes:

That was the splendid Katherine Dunham, an anthropologist, choreographer, and expert practitioner of Voodoo.  Stanley said she had asked him whether it was all right to rehearse for Aida in her room (for the Metropolitan Opera), and he'd said that was fine. Then he got a call at home that she'd arrived at the hotel in a limousine with a pair of real lions and (according to Stanley) taken them upstairs in the elevator.  He insisted that she take them out, but she got some rehearsal in first.

Dunham and the composer George Kleinsinger were the ones who rescued Brendan Behan by bringing him into the Chelsea. Dunham's dancers tended him around the clock. Still, he would escape out into the halls, find the portly, 73-year-old Communist leader Elizabeth Gurley Flynn on her way downstairs, pick her up like a little doll and give her an affectionate shake, saying she was the best little Irish-American Communist he'd ever known.

Stanley did eventually ask Dunham to leave--not because of the lions, but because her Voodoo drums were bothering the neighbors.

Charlie Rangel has a bill in the House tight now formally honoring Katherine Dunham's contribution to American dance.

I'm sure some may say that we don't want lions (or drunks like Behan) wondering the halls, yet the point is that the Chelsea was once a magical place where the odd and unusual were part of the everyday fabric of our lives. And that's waht we are struggling against: a return to boring normalcy. Let's send Tilley and his guards to a Red Roof Inn at a truck stop in Cleveland where they belong. -- Ed Hamilton

(Photos: Katherine Dunham, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn)

Oscar Nominees at the Chelsea Hotel's 100 Year Anniversary Celebration

Not only did we come into possession of the 100 year anniversary program earlier this week, now we have video from the event.  Watch below to see Oscar nominees Sylvia Miles and Ronee Blakely hanging out in the lobby with actress, author and cult icon Cookie Mueller.  The anniversary party had just been shut down by the fire marshall because of overcrowding.  The video is by Nelson Sullivan who also filmed "Christina at the Chelsea."

Tilley Takes Sabbatical to Attend David Bernstein School of Hotel Management

     The news this week is that Andrew "Picadilly" Tilley has already gone on vacation!   He's been out all week, after having only started work on July 1.  Man that's the life, isn't it?  I guess he doesn't intend to emulate Stanley Bard.  But what I'm wondering is, what sort of job is this?  Most of the time, when you start a new job, you don't even think of taking a vacation for several months, right?  At least if you want to make any kind of a good impression.  And what kind of boss would let him get away with this shit?  I wonder if Marlene Krauss is rethinking the wisdom of her hire.
     I guess dealing with the press must have stressed Tilley out.  After all, he gave two half-hearted interviews in the past couple of weeks.  Maybe he needs a mental health break.
     It's no skin off my nose anyway.  Even when Tilley was here he was reportedly only working "summer hours" of 9:30 - 3:30, and even then nobody saw him since he was always in the back.  No doubt the very visible security guards can take up the slack in his absence.  Well, here's wishing Tilley a quick recovery from whatever it is that ails him. -- Ed Hmailton

Revealed! Andrew Tilley’s Plans for Chelsea Hotel

In last week’s Chelsea Now, manager Andrew Tilley promised Chelsea Hotel residents a letter in which he would introduce himself and tell us his plans for the building.  While it has not been forthcoming, Tilley did indeed compose a draft of such a letter, which he then e-mailed to Marlene Krauss, who promptly shot it down.  Apparently, she thought it revealed too much, but you can judge for yourself, as we intercepted it.  These people still haven’t caught on that we control the internet:

Dear Chelsea Hotel Residents,

Welcome to the New Chelsea Hotel!  I’m Andrew Tilley of Britain, and I’ll be your manager as we move forward into the New Century.  If you have any questions, just ask for me at the front desk, and I’ll be only too happy meet with you in order to address your concerns.  I have a feeling we’re going to be friends.

            Some of you are no doubt concerned as to our plans for the building, and I’m here to set your minds at ease.  Just trust us, it’s going to be great.  Though restrictive and unfair land marking laws prevent us from modernizing the façade of the hotel, the good news is that no such strictures are in place regarding the interior of the building, so we can have a ball! 

            The new lobby will be under construction for two years, but residents can enter and exit through the tunnel to 22^nd St., and so any inconvenience will be minor.  The wait will be worth it, for when the lobby is finished it will stand alongside any W Hotel in the world in terms of style and elegance, probably something in slate or black and red lacquer, definitely with a Koi pond and some potted trees.  The stairwell will be opened to the lobby, resulting in dust and asbestos being broadcast throughout the building, but only temporarily.  We will also replace the dilapidated cast iron railing of the staircase with a more modern version, a move which only the most hopeless fossils can fail to applaud.  (Don’t worry, having worked at the Hard Rock Hotel, I have a well developed appreciation of history.)

            A new bar, “Legends Lounge” is presently under construction in the room off the lobby.  It will be managed by Charles Ferri and will feature fresh young coconut shakes and music by the Doors.  Exclusive Members will enter through the old Balabanis Tailor shop, and will eventually be able to board an express elevator to Rareview, the elite new club on the roof!  At some point, if you behave yourselves, we will have an open house where you can tour this fabulous establishment, which will normally be bottle service only and will feature a helipad for oil magnates visiting from Dubai.

Under study is a proposal whereby the present lobby and entrance will be used only for the high-paying nightly guests.  The old permanent residents, if any remain, will be grouped on the lower floors of the east wing, using the back staircase and the present service elevator to access a “grandly” refurbished tunnel to 22^nd St.(which you should be accustomed to using by this point anyway).  We are in negotiations with Madame Tussaud’s to produce a full scale model of Stanley Bard, possibly in tennis attire, that will be installed behind glass on your wing of the hotel.

As part of this long-overdue process of renewal, we’ll be sloughing off the detritus of the old.  We realize that some of our tenants have special needs that can best be served by such psychological care facilities as half-way houses, and we will work with each of you individually to ensure that you obtain the most satisfactory placement.  In addition, some of you may be “temporarily” relocated to another floor as construction proceeds, or even to a beautiful resettlement project in the Bronx.  But don’t worry about any of this until you receive a notice in your box.

Of course, all these changes will be financed under a Capital Improvement program that will allow us to levy a “modest” increase in your rents, thus bringing them up to market level in a long overdue correction.  But once you see our brilliant new hospitality establishment, I’m sure you all will agree that the sacrifice is well worth it.  And besides, most of you will be gone by then and won’t even have to pay! 

Welcome once again to an exciting new concept in hotel living.

Cheerio,

Andrew “Picadilly” Tilley

Chelsea Hotel: Fade to Black?

Legends has obtained a rare copy of the program for the 100^th Anniversary Celebration of of the Chelsea Hotel in 1983.  In somber black and oddly titled “Chelsea: Chelsea Hotel. The First One Hundred Years,” the cover of the (obviously expensively produced) booklet features a very faint reproduction (almost a watermark),  also in black, of a section of the famous cast iron balcony.  I guess the designer, Joseph DeAngelis, was going for a sort of Back in Black effect, since it was at around this time that the AC/DC album came out, if I remember correctly.  I wonder if Angus Young ever stayed here.

            The booklet is copiously illustrated.  Claudio Edinger is credited with the photos, and several of those that appear can also be found in his book.  There are also some very fine uncredited photos that I don’t think Claudio took, of such Chelsea luminaries as Arthur Miller, Virgil Thomson, and Arthur C. Clarke.

            At a time when the current management is contemplating the destruction of the physical and cultural integrity of the Chelsea Hotel, the booklet is an instructive document.  Perhaps Marlene Krauss, David Elder, and Andrew Tilley will be given pause by the assessment of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission:

On the basis of a careful consideration of the history and architecture and other features of this building, the Landmarks Preservation Commission finds that the Hotel Chelsea has a special character, special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the development, heritage and cultural characteristics of New York City.

Though I rather doubt it.  But surely they cannot fail to heed the words of Bess Myerson, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs:

            

There is, perhaps, no other hotel in the world that has been as important to the creative process as the Chelsea.  For one hundred years the hotel has provided a safe haven to an impressive array of artists. . . .it now deserves to be recognized as a New York City treasure.  A century of anything is a long time.  A century of nurturing and supporting the creative process is a remarkable achievement.  Bravo!

            We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.  In case anyone wondered, this is what the residents of the Chelsea Hotel are struggling to preserve—for ourselves, and for generations of creative people to come.   More than simply our home, the Chelsea represents a way of life that is an increasingly rare alternative to the hollow materialism of the greater part of society. -- Ed Hamilton

New Manager Andrew Tilley Speaks—and Says Little

After hiding away for almost a month, manager Andrew Tilley has finally heeded Legends’ advice and broken his silence with the press (Chelsea Now, August 1-7, Scott Stiffler). The result is a transparent nattering of corporate-speak in which he tiptoes around addressing residents’ concerns.

Evictions
First and foremost on every tenant’s mind is whether or not the wave of evictions—16 in the year since Stanley’s ouster—will continue, and whether it will affect them personally. Though he doesn’t address the issue directly, Tilley says: “A lot of our existing tenants are very special people who made the hotel what it is today. We want to preserve that, but also create new history moving into the 21st century.” Yeah, a lot of us are special, but apparently a lot of us aren’t. Which I suppose explains why the hotel is in court with about 40 of us because they are refusing to acknowledge that our apartments are rent stabilized. In addition, only last week several residents received notices on their doors advising them to pay up in three days or face eviction proceedings. Actions speak louder than words. Remember who hired Tilley.

Construction
Tenants are worried that Tilley is set to begin a major construction project and then try to pass along the costs to the residents as capital improvements—in some cases raising rents over the threshold of luxury decontrol. Tilley seems to confirm our fears when he says that he intends to, “. . .refurbish and renovate the hotel while preserving the heart and soul of the building.”

Repairs
Repairs are of course different from new construction, but Tilley has nothing to say on this matter. If your floorboards are rotted through, Tilley is responsible for providing you with a new floor. If your ceiling is leaking, Tilley is responsible for fixing it. The sorry state of this building is one of the main reasons why Tilley can’t obtain the necessary permits and certificates, chief among them a Certificate of Non-Harassment. Yes, it is indeed considered harassment for Tilley not to make the necessary repairs to your apartment. Ask Tilley to make any repairs you need, and if he doesn’t (which he won’t for anything major), dial 311 and complain.

New Security Guards
     This is not the way to respect the history of the Chelsea. Tilley says: “I’ve worked in many hotels in NYC, and every one has had a security guard present,” and implies that the presence of these new guards is standard and necessary. But the truth of the matter is, we’ve always had security (those who have the job blend right in), just not professional guards standing around in the lobby and walking the halls to intimidate people. Isn’t it funny that the one real case where the guards have acted was to threaten, harass and ultimately assault a permanent resident who was exercising his right to free speech? Now, however, Tilley cites another case, saying, “Two days ago, we had a guest who required security because they were being accosted by an inebriated person.”
      Legends recently received information about an incident that sounds curiously like what he’s referring to. Was the “inebriated” person by any chance a permanent resident, simply acting in his or her normal, wacky manner? (Perhaps the guest just needed to be educated as to what sort of hotel he was in.) Whatever it was, I’m sure the longtime staff could have handled it without the intercession of the professional guards. If anyone knows more about this incident, please write in to the blog so we can get to the bottom of this.  -- Ed Hamilton