Living with Legends: Hotel Chelsea Blog

Jobraith: One of Many Former Chelsea Hotel Rooftop Rockers

Performing on the NBC show Midnight Special in 1974 during the peak of his career.

Rapper A.B.S. Stops by the Chelsea Hotel

So what's up with this video ABS?  Since when does the Chelsea Hotel play second fiddle to the Eiffel Tower in a rap music video? 

The Burning Question at the Chelsea Hotel: Where’s Piri’s Money

Nobody seems to be able to find the 1.2 million that David Elder hid from author Piri Thomas.  They gutted Bob Dylan’s room looking for it, but it wasn’t there.  Then they dug up the entire roof carting away the trees and soil and various potted plants and still there was neither hide nor hair of the pilfered cash.  They even looked behind Arthur Nash’s Bring Back the Bards sign.  Zilch! Nada! We hear now that there’s a substantial reward being offered for the return of the money.  So much so that Moore Associates are planning to excavate the Cellar space looking for it.  We wish them luck!

Maybe Elder flushed it down that toilet he’s always posing with.

Former Chelsea Hotel Part-Time General Manager David Bernstein's Secret Blog

Remember last May when Marlene Krauss fired Richard Born and Ira Drukier from managing the Chelsea Hotel. Allegedly, one of the reasons she fired them was because General Manager David Bernstein was never around.  So where the heck was he and what was he up to?  The answer can now be revealed.  He was busy setting up a blog for the Pod Hotel.  Hey David, if you need any guest bloggers, we need jobs!  By the way, writing about Marlene Krauss is great way to get readers.  Unfortunately, you need to be a guest of the Pod Hotel to read the blog.  Rats.  Well, you can always follow the Pod on twitter.

Good News for Chelsea Hotel Painters

Chelsea Hotel manager David Elder is now accepting paintings in exchange for stays at the famed Chelsea Hotel.  And here we thought those people lined up on the sidewalk were waiting to get into the comedy club.  It's a return to the good old days.  Nadia Bertrand told Chelsea Now that she recently turned over two paintings to David Elder in exchange for a month long stay.  "We'll take it as it goes in terms of if other people are interested," Elder told Chelsea Now.  This should give the occupancy rates around here a big boost.  We hear that the poets will still have to pay.  (Photo of Nadia and her painting by Patrick Hedlund.)

Melanie Fiona Will Keep You Up All Night

Here's the end result of that video shoot a few months back where the crew took over the west wing of the 7th and 8th floors and filmed until 3:30 in the morning on a Sunday.  What do you think?  Was it worth losing a night's sleep over?   You be the judge.

Melanie Fiona - Give It To Me Right

Translator Needed

Some Chelsea Hotel guests decided to get into the spirit of banner hanging pioneered by tenant activist Arthur Nash.  Here’s the result of their labors.  We don’t know what this means since we don’t speak Italian but assume it’s something along the lines of “Fight the Power” or “Stick it to the Man”.  In any event it disappeared within a few hours of our spotting it.

Chelsea Beaver House A No Go

 Chelsea Hotel ’s recently launched website featured a lovely photo of a fetching young woman sprawled upon the famous staircase.  Having apparently either fallen or jumped or perhaps having just decided to take a rest.   The sexist nature of this photo led some of our blog readers to take exception.  For instance historian Sherill Tippins wrote in to say: 

As someone at work on a history of Chelsea, whose founding philosopher is known for saying that a society can be judged by the way it treats its women, I can't tell you how ironic it is to see the image in that brochure of a woman stretched out in that sexually inviting way on the staircase. It's the quintessential image of commercial exploitation.

Decade after decade, the Chelsea's residents have worked through issues relating to women's place in society--from the first vagrant girl who was sent to Bellevue in 1884 for insisting that she had friends at the Chelsea, to the Victorian-era invalid, daughter of William Dean Howells, who died of lassitude, to John Sloan's wife, Dolly, a former prostitute saved by art, to Arthur Miller's Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol's Edie Sedgwick, Shirley Clarke, Patti Smith, and the many, many women who came to the Chelsea in the Seventies to liberate themselves.

And now, to end with this? I'm starting to feel more at home in the Second-Life Chelsea.

Strangely enough soon after this comment appeared the girl went missing. Where has the girl gone? Did they take her out in a body bag?  Or was she simply a figment of our imagination all along.  Perhaps she’s in the same Bohemian limbo as Piri’s money.  Guess the Beaver House will stay downtown.

Benihana Architect Seeks to Renovate Chelsea Hotel Storefront. Are Times that Tough at Tabler?

In answer to last week’s quiz: both the Hinckley Hilton and the Edison, New Jersey Benihana were designed by the architectural firm of William Tabler, who have now filed apermit application with the DOB to do $20,000 worth of work in the Capitol Fishing Tackle space.  Well, I guess it’s about damn time, as the storefront has sat empty for almost three years now. 
     Our question for Mr. Tabler is, for $20,000, do you really need the aggravation? After all we’ve seen your website. You can work anywhere in the world. We’re not even talking about the inevitable pressure from well-organized tenant activists or the daily scrutiny of the media. Look at who your bosses will be. Though I’m sure Marlene Krauss was on her best behavior for your meeting, she’s a psychotic harpy who will have you by the balls in no time flat.  Obviously you’ve not even met David Elder yet, or you would never have taken the job in the first place. 
     I guess you just neglected to do your research.  Call hoteliers Richard Born and Ira Drukier and ask them if Marlene has paid them the $425,000 she owes them yet.  Call author Piri Thomas and ask if he’s seen the $1.2 million that Elder owes him.  Ask the other Chelsea  Hotel shareholders if they’ve seen any of the increased profits that Marlene promised them for supporting the hostile takeover of the Hotel. 
            Perhaps you look at this relatively small job as a foot in the door, and think that eventually you’ll be hired to gut renovate the entire hotel.  But do you think Marlene is going to be able to get a mortgage to pay you in this economy?  There’s 40 or more outstanding lawsuits against the hotel!  Marlene didn’t mention those, did she?  I doubt that she mentioned that her prospects for obtaining a Certificate of No Harassment are rather remote as well, as Elder admitted in a DHCR hearing to hiring goons to assault a tenant.  Thank your lucky stars that you haven’t signed on for anything bigger.  -- Ed Hamilton 

Benihana Steak House vs Chelsea Hotel

For those of you who didn’t guess the answer to our quiz question on Wednesday here is another hint.  The gentrified and suburbanized Chelsea neighborhood already has an Olive Garden and an Outback Steakhouse.  It’s high time we had a Benihana’s as well.  And maybe we’ll get a Red Lobster in the El Quixote space.   Viva Suburbia! 

Bring Back the Bards Campaign to Enter Neon Phase? Krauss & Elder Express Concern for Well Being of Tenant Arthur Nash

Pictured below is the results of Chelsea Hotel minority shareholder's Krauss and Elder's ongoing campaign to squelch free speech at the Chelsea. DOB has issued a violation to the Hotel because the "Bring Back Stanley Bard" sign was attached to the balcony, which they're calling a fire escape.  Tenant activist Arthur Nash has this to say about the latest development:  

"Even as minority stakeholder David Elder was embracing free speech with a self-serving blurb published in Chelsea Now, he continued to dole out disdain for those whose expressions are, appropriately enough, afforded the most protection under the law -- in this instance, pro-Bard Family tenants who do (and will continue to) oppose his hostile takeover of the Chelsea Hotel. In the past, Elder dealt with what he considers unpopular speech not inside the courtroom but by retaliating with violent thugs who he clandestinely paid in cash, and by initiating retaliatory complaints with DOB that wrecked the rooftop gardens and caused our balconies --aka fire escapes-- to be rendered barren in time for spring. In spite of this harassment David Elder may be entitled to thanks for his most recent complaint which, while equally bogus and being selectively enforced, will permit the Bard Banner campaign to keep evolving, perhaps into NEON."

Yeah, it really looks like that sign was blocking the fire escape!  And besides, excuse me for being cynical but does anyone really believe that Kruass and Elder care whether or not Arthur is injured in a fire!

The signs in chronological order from 2007 - 2009:
 
 
 
The sign is no longer attached to Arthur Nash's terrace railing but it's still displayed!

Hinckley Hilton vs Chelsea Hotel

What do the Washington Hilton, the place where Hinckley shot Reagan, and the Chelsea Hotel have in common?  Care to hazard a guess?  Hint: it doesn’t have anything to do with Sid and Nancy, and it only came about recently.  Stay tuned to the blog for the answer.

Hotel Chelsea Website Undergoes Second Redesign: Bard Family Still Missing

The first redesign of the Chelsea Hotel website was undertaken during the misbegotten reign of Richard Born and Ira Drukier.  Besides being poorly written and edited, the BD site removed all mention of the Bard family’s role in managing the hotel for nearly 70 years.  Now it’s hard to tell who oversaw this most recent redesign since Marlene Krauss is refusing to hire a manager for the Hotel, but the tradition of denying the Bard family legacy remains firmly in place.  ( Nice photo of the Hotel on the splash page by the way.   This takes the campaign to erase the Bard legacy a step further than even BD, who at least had enough concern for the truth to include the Bring Back the Bards signs in their picture.)

One of  our favorite new sections of the redesigned site is called “The Chelsea.” As you can see, the site still needs an editor.  (Oh, and it also needs somebody who knows how to tell a joke!)  Gee, anybody wonder why Jerry Weinstein is the only person on staff who can speak intelligently about the history of the Hotel?  Could it have anything to do with the firing of Stanley and David Bard?

Chelsea Hotel Minority Shareholder Marlene Krauss, M.D., MBA, to Audition for New Prime Time NBC Show featuring Bernie Madoff Victims

Although Chelsesas Hotel minority shareholder Marlene Krauss is a high-powered businesswoman who routinely crushes ordinary mortals beneath her 6-inch Manolo Blahniks and makes grown men weep and grovel before her on their knees, we know that her one big regret in life is that she missed the cut for Charlie’s Angels back in the seventies.

    But don’t start feeling sorry for her yet.  NBC is now casting for a new prime time show staring victims of Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme!  It’s Marlene’s big chance.  With her timeless beauty, her winning personality, and her questionable financial sense, she’s a shoe-in.

    Best of all, she doesn’t have to do anything to be considered.  Anyone can nominate a candidate for the show, and we intend to do so immediately.  Others can nominate Marlene as well, perhaps strengthening her chances, by writing to [email protected].  Do your part for the Chelsea, Bohemians.  Help make Marlene a star.-- Ed Hamilton

Though Greed and Phony Demolition Win a Round in Court, Dan Peckham Remains a Hero to Tenants Everywhere

New York Real Estate Legend Dan Peckham’s Appelate Court case against his landlord, Larry Tauber, was decided May 5, and, in a blow against tenants everywhere, Peckham lost (Peckham v. Calogero).  Later that day Tauber sent Peckham an e-mail message that said, “Tick-tock,” hinting that Peckham’s days in his rent stabilized apartment were numbered; Tauber also forwarded his lawyer's BBWG's e-mail to Tauber that gloatingly said, “WE WON!”

In other words: Hooray! We get to throw an elderly, disabled man whom we’ve harassed for five years out into the street!  Their mothers must be beaming with pride.  I don’t know what’s going to happen to Peckham now, but most likely Tauber will step up efforts to evict him.  Hopefully Peckham has legal recourse.  He relies on pro-bono legal representation, and is presently without a lawyer.  We are hoping that a competent, dedicated lawyer will quickly step forward to represent Peckham, and keep the wolf from his door.

To bring you up to speed on this case: Tauber is seeking to gut renovate Peckham’s building which is in the Chelesa neighborhood.  The Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) granted him the permits to demolish the building (which he began to do, with Peckham still in it!), but then realized its mistake.  The Appellate Court said, basically, that the DHCR couldn’t change its mind about the definition of “demolition” in Tauber’s case after it had already decided that he met the criteria. 

(This is actually somewhat reasonable, as allowing city agencies to change the rules after they have already granted permits could lead to all sorts of abuses.  It’s just that in Tauber’s case—an instance of the so called “phony demolition”—the permits shouldn’t have been granted in the first place, and any reason to revoke them would seem justified.)

This affects other cases around the city in which the DHCR has already made a decision to grant permits for this kind of phony demolition.  Fortunately, the DHCR can still change their definition of “demolition” for future cases.  We urge them to do so, and immediately close this dangerous loophole.

Enduring untold stress and harassment, Peckham has been the lone holdout in his building for five years, costing Tauber hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost rent revenues and legal fees, and making greedy landlords everywhere think twice about trying to cheat legitimate rent stabilized tenants out of their rights.  In addition to fighting his own case, Dan has devoted his time and expertise to aid other Tauber tenants in need, and as such he remains a hero and an example for all of us of what a courageous, dedicated activist can accomplish.  We need more Dan Peckhams in this City. --  Ed Hamilton

 

Gerald Busby's Review of "Oh Virgil: A Theatrical Portrait"

Gerald Busby, a friend of composer Virgil Thomson, recently checked out Wallace Norman's new play, "Oh Virgil: A Theatrical Portrait."  Busby had this to say about the play, "For anyone who already knows Virgil Thomson’s music and his life at the Chelsea Hotel, this production will be deeply satisfying. For those who don’t know his music, it will reveal an American genius who mastered the art of merging instinct and intellect in the simplest musical terms – you think you’ve heard this before, but suddenly you realize it’s a completely new context for the most familiar and intimate experiences of your life." You can read the full review at theaterscene.net.

"Oh Virgil: A Theatrical Portrait" stars VICTOR TRURO and runs through May 10 at The Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, NY NY

Actor/Bob Dylan Fan Mark L. Young Stops by the Chelsea

Actor Mark L. Young was in town last week for the premier of “Happiness Runs” which was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Young who appeared in “Happiness Runs,” “O.C.,” “ER,” “Sex Drive,” and “Big Love” among other things was very curious about Bob Dylan’s room and wanted to check it out.  Young gave us a copy of Nylon magazine which focused on stars of the next generation and Young was included in the article.  Perhaps in a few years Young will be so successful that he’ll return to help the Bring Back the Bards campaign.   We hope that the Chelsea is as big an inspiration to Young as it has been to us and countless other creative people throughout its 125 year history.  In the picture Mark stands beside the Chelsea’s latest acquisition ,a painting by Nadia Bertrand, who you might remember was at the Chelsea for an extended stay which ended a couple of weeks ago.  We’d tell you what room it’s in but we don’t want people to be building shrines.  

A Star Is Born: Robby From The Pita Hut

For those of you who didn't know that Robby from the Pita Hut was a major talent, check out this hot video from the Rev. Billy Talen for Mayor campaign.  Go Robby!

Bring Back the Bards! Awareness Event at Hotel Chelsea Second Life

The Hotel Chelsea is one of the last remaining art enclaves and bohemian outposts, which nurtured the musical contributions of artists such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Leonard Cohen and many more.

The Hotel Chelsea in New York is under threat right now, as they have begun to demolish this great piece of our musical heritage.   You can do something about it!

Join Mykal Skall and other performing artists at The Hotel Chelsea  Second Life for the "Bring Back The Bards!" campaign.   This grassroots movement based at the Hotel Chelsea New York (First Life) hopes to reestablish management of the Hotel to the Bard family, who will preserve the history and artistic integrity of the site in perpetuity.

The Grand Opening is Sunday May 3rd begining at 12pm and ending with Mykal Skall Live at 6pm.  There will be a myriad of Live Spoken Word Artists, and Live Music including:
Phiona EMber
Moondoggirl Moomintoog
Rosedrop Rust
Whirli Placebo
Moxy Barracuda
Mykal Skall
And the Comedy of Lauren Weyland

Chelsea Hotel Land Mark:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lanestris/57/148/98/

When the Chelsea Hotel Mailboxes Go Missing The New York Times Notices

The Bring Back the Bards campaign has taken root in another life thanks to the hard work and talent of Mykal Skall.  We're glad to have him on board in our ongoing fight to preserve the 125-year-old tradition of artistic freedom at the Chelsea.

Thanks also to Saki Knafo for bringing Mykal's work, and our struggle, to the attention of a wider public.  And for minority shareholders Krauss and Elder, please be put on notice: when you desecrate this iconic hotel, the world is watching, and history will be your judge.

One Correction to the NYT article: Bob Dylan's old room, 211, did not undergo renovations.  It was simply, and, I might add, illegally, gutted.  Management planned to renovate it, but they did not have the proper permits, so the DOB shut them down. -- Ed Hamilton

Chelsea Hotel Minority Shareholder Will Single Handedly Save The Newspaper Industry

At last we have good news to report. David Elder has come out in support of freedom of the press vowing that Chelsea Now will once again be welcome in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel.  Following a pro- Bard editorial Chelsea Now had been removed from the lobby, apparently because it threatened the stability of Elder's reign.  And then after a series of pro-Bard letters to the editor in a subsequent issue Chelsea Now disappeared from many of the paper boxes surrounding the Hotel.  Disappearing, once again, even after some of them were refilled. Don't be rejoicing yet although the Onion and New York Press have been present in the lobby this week together with a bunch of fliers there is still no sign of Chelsea Now.  Has Elder come down with a case of cold feet?  Stay tune to the blog for further updates. -- Ed Hamilton