Living with Legends: Hotel Chelsea Blog

Chelsea Hotel Guests Being Told More Than Chelsea Hotel Tenants

Here's an e-mail which was sent to a guest who used an online booking service to reserve a room at the Chelsea Hotel.  It's the sort of information that residents had to learn through rumor and heresay.  It's interesting to see what kind of Hotels we are now being compared too. We've sunk to a new low under Marlene Krauss.

You have a reservation with Hotel Chelsea, located in New York.

We've just been informed by the management of the Hotel Chelsea that they will undergo a change of ownership.
We've been further informed that the new owners will close the property to undergo a year long renovation project. Unfortunately this circumstance is outside of our control.

As a result, Hotel Chelsea will be closing immediately and will be unable to accommodate your reservation.

We completely understand the frustration this may cause. We have included several suggestions of similar properties below:

Flatiron Hotel Toshi
http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/new-york-1141-broadway.en-us.html?aid=310138%3Blabel%3Dcallcenter-bcrider%3Bsid%3Df45ba8e0992aeca08dc151092ec3656e%3Bcheckin%3D2011-08-01%3Bcheckout%3D2011-08-04%3Bsrfid%3D0e8eb8a8687891ac2e680501bb674993X1

Hotel Pennsylvania
http://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?aid=310138&label=callcenter-bcrider&si=ho&ss=Hotel+Pennsylvania&hotelids

Hotel Marrakech
http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/marrakech.en-us.html?aid=310138%3Blabel%3Dcallcenter-bcrider%3Bsid%3Df45ba8e0992aeca08dc151092ec3656e%3Bcheckin%3D2011-08-01%3Bcheckout%3D2011-08-04%3Bsrfid%

Comfort Inn Chelsea
http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/c-inn-chelsea.en-us.html?aid=310138%3Blabel%3Dcallcenter-bcrider%3Bsid%3Df45ba8e0992aeca08dc151092ec3656e%3Bsrfid%3D045b9b95002d224e5863e05e5564b2c0X1

Please know that we recognize the inconvenience and frustration this closure may cause to you. We have agents on duty 24 hours a day, every day if you would like to personally speak with someone to help you re-book.

Kind regards,

Marlene Krauss to Joseph Chetrit: Put Up or Shut Up:July 31 Deadline For Sale of Chelsea Hotel

     Like the giant squid and the sperm whale, or perhaps more like the crocodile and the python, two redoubtable real estate reptiles are locked in a primordial death struggle that will decide the fate of the Chelsea Hotel.  Soon, one combatant will sink, lifeless, to the bottom of the putrefying construction-pit sludge, while the other limps off to lick its (perhaps also soon-to-be fatal) wounds.
     The two sides, represented by Chelsea Hotel iron lady Marlene Krauss and potential buyer Joseph Chetrit, have been negotiating the sale of the hotel for months.  By law, if they don’t close by July 31, the deal is voided.  Though we have no way of seeing into the inner workings of the negotiation process, among the possible reasons it’s taking so long are:
         1. Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme victim Krauss doesn’t have the agreement of the full Chelsea Hotel shareholders’ board;
         2. the recently embattled (and presumably cash poor) Chetrit is still trying to attract investors who will loan him the money—reportedly “over 80 million” —needed to buy the hotel. 
      Both seem to have lately been waging an intense PR campaign: plumber’s daughter Krauss shrilly trumpeting the sale of the hotel in the press, hoping to present it to the board as a fait accompli that they dare not oppose; while Chetrit, who has recently split with his brothers/partners and had several high-profile properties foreclosed on, runs around loudly proclaiming that he’s rich, rich, RICH!!!—even whipping out his checkbook on one occasion to prove that he could easily dash off a check for $100 million .
            Excuse me, Joe, but can’t you just write whatever numbers you want to in those things? 
            Though Krauss and Chetrit seem to be on the same page in their willingness to conclude the deal, in doing his due diligence, Chetrit—whose corpulent bulk was spotted in the lobby last week, sweating profusely despite the AC—has most likely begun to have second thoughts about this property, and to see its numerous downsides -- too numerous to list here!.
          In short, though he desperately needs to make this buy so he can look like a player again, we are beginning to think that Chetrit wishes he had his reported $15 million down payment back.  Though this is admittedly speculation, we think the competition has boiled down to a battle of wills between TMS Magnate Krauss, who wants to push the sale through at all costs, and Morrocan Mogul Chetrit, who would probably like nothing better than to back out of this deal without losing face—or, more importantly, his shirt!  Oh well, he’s gotta like the donut shop, at least. -- Ed Hamilton
      

Chelsea Hotel to Close In an Apparent Ploy to Bust the Union

In what’s shaping up as a rather eventful week at the Chelsea Hotel, staff members have been told to stop taking reservations after August 2.  So if you want to spend one more night at the Chelsea Hotel before it closes, now is your last chance.  
               Though this latest move could mean many things (such as the chance to do construction under reduced scrutiny), the most obvious is that it will give Chetrit (if he closes the sale of the hotel) a way to bust the union.  Although, as required before the sale negogitations could go forward, the notoriously anti-union developer met with representatives of Hotel Workers Local a couple of weeks ago, signing a union contract good until July 2012, it looks like he’s now having second thoughts.  Either that, or he planned this all along, knowing he could render the contract meaningless with this stratagem.

Chetrit can afford to do this because the hotel has made so little money under Marlene Krauss that it will not really affect the income.  As everything the hotel takes in is going out in expenses, Chetrit could actually end up making more money just by cutting staff.

               Which brings us to the most painful part of this post, the human toll that such a move will inevitably have, a consideration that Krauss and Chetrit seem constitutionally unable to comprehend.  For it looks as if at least some union employees, many of whom have been around for years and even decades and are a valued part of the Chelsea Hotel family, will be laid off.  Chetrit would then presumably contract out the remaining jobs, or perhaps keep a skeleton staff  of the non-union employees.  Then, after a year, once the union contract has expired, Chetrit will simply  reopen the Chelsea as a non-union hotel.  (Staff were told that reservations would begin to be taken again in a year—though a lot can happen in that time.)

We hope that this is not the case, as it would be a loss that the hotel can ill-afford if it is ever to return to its former glory.  Union reps were at the hotel today, meeting with lame duck manager Arnold Tamasar, and employees were told they would hear more on Monday.  We will let you know when we learn the details of this unconscionable plot, though keep in mind that the sale of the hotel has not yet been finalized.  But don’t be surprised if you see a big fat rat outside the hotel sometime soon.  Besides Chetrit, I mean.

 

Painting by Alpheous Philemon Cole, Former World’s Oldest Man, Among Recent Art Casualties

As we stated in our post yesterday, a number of paintings were removed from the hotel on Wednesday, July 20, reportedly thrown carelessly into the back of a van and taken to an unknown location.  An artist who saw her painting being removed was able to rescue it as it was being carried out.  She reported that the paintings were being taken from Stanley’s office, which has been used for storage since our illustrious proprietor’s ouster in June 2007.  Now we have received credible reports that all the work that was in the tourist rooms has also been removed.

               One significant casualty is a painting by the artist Alpheous Philemon Cole that hung behind the desk for many years until it was removed sometime during the tenure of the new management and put into storage.  Cole, born in 1876, moved into the Chelsea at the age of 81, and lived here for 35 years until his death in 1988, at the time the world’s oldest living man at the astounding age of 112!  (Whenever anbody  asked Stanley Bard about all of the tragic deaths that had taken place at the Hotel he would invaribly deflect the question by citing the case of Alpheous Cole, the world's oldest living man, as more representative of the Chelsea Hotel experience.  Below is Claudio Edinger’s portrait of Cole, which was taken a few years before the painter’s death.)  Cole’s painting was spotted being heaved into the van along with the others.  Unfortunately, we have been unable to find a photo of the painting, reportedly a portrait of a young man.  Our readers could be of help here: if you have a photo or any information about the painting, or other paintings that you think may have been removed, please let us know.  Your help will be greatly appreciated.

               We have a few lingering questions.  Was management authorized to remove these paintings?  Were the artists contacted?  Where are the paintings being stored, and are they being stored properly?  Will artists who fear their work was among the paintings removed be allowed to visit the site to reclaim it?  Not all of the paintings hanging on the walls of the rooms were owned by the hotel, as evidenced by the artist who rescued hers.  Many had merely loaned their work to the hotel.  At the very least, management needs to provide a list of the works that were removed from the hotel. -- Ed Hamilton

(Photo Source: Photo by Claludio Edinger.)

Missing Chelsea Hotel Painting Fetches $1.4 Million at Sotheby’s

In a recent, distressing trend at the Chelsea, art works have been disappearing from the walls, some of them never to be seen again.  These fall into a few distinct categories:

1. Evicted Art: several resident artists removed their canvasses after they were evicted.

2. Trashed Art: at least two significant art works were discovered in the trash on 23^rd Street: a framed sketch of Arthur Miller by the artist Rene Shapshack; and a painting by a resident artist that once graced Stanley Bard’s office (the latter reportedly worth about $10,000).

3. Stolen Art:  paintings by two deceased artists, Herbert Gentry and Arthur Weinstein, have been reported stolen by their widows.  Gentry is a world-renowned artist, and his painting was worth upwards of $50,000.

4. Mystery Art: several canvasses have disappeared with no trace, including two by the Japanese Artist Hiroya, one a large collaborative canvas that was very popular with tourists, the other a Dee Dee Ramone tribute.

5. Sold Art: the reclining nude by Akbar Padamsee that had long hung above the door to the lobby (see photo of lobby above), and that disappeared in late 2010, has recently resurfaced.  Turns out it was auctioned off by Sotheby’s in March to an unnamed collector—for a whopping $1.4 million! 

 Padamsee’s canvas was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Montreal in 1960, and, according to Sotheby’s catalog, entered a “private collection” shortly thereafter.  Though it is not specified in the catalog, that would presumably be the collection of Stanley Bard, ousted manager of the Chelsea Hotel.
 
We are also very concerned as to the fate of two angular canvases by the Australian artist Brett Whiteley, (seen above the desk in 2008  and in 2010 in the photos) whose work has recently been commanding prices in the millions of dollars.  The last time we caught a glimpse of these paintings, they were stacked against a wall in Stanley’s office; but now, according to an  anonymous tipster, several paintings were observed being carted out of the hotel last Wednesday and taken away in a van.  Probably we will see them up for sale at Christie’s soon enough.

            For now, residents are left to stare forlornly at blank spaces on the discolored walls of our lobby and stairwell as we mourn the looting of our proud artistic tradition.  At the very least, part of that $1.4 million windfall should be used to compensate the widows whose husband’s stolen paintings formed an integral part of that tradition.

High-Rolling Chelsea Hotel Manager Arnold “Twinkle-Toes” Tamasar Steps Out in Style

            One of the ex-employee’s allegations in Arthur Nash’s personal injury lawsuit against the hotel [Arthur Nash, plaintiff vs. David Elder, Chelsea 23^rd St. Corp., BD NY Hotels, LLC, Charles Ferri, et. al., before the Supreme Court of the State of New York] is that manager Arnold Tamasar sent him on personal errands during work hours.  The ex-
employee writes: 

54. Tamasar once sent me to Dolce and Gabbana to purchase a new pair of shoes for him.

55. I took a cab at the expense of the Hotel during regular business hours to Dolce & Gabbana.

56. I purchased Tamasar’s Dolce & Gabbana shoes with cash Tamasar gave me.

57. Tamasar also sent me to the florist during regular business hours to pick out a bouquet for a date he had that evening.

58. While at the florist, I paid for Tamasar’s flowers with cash given to me by Tamasar. 

            Setting aside issues of abuse of authority, misuse of hotel funds, and the like, what strikes us as most significant in this charge is that Arnold Tamasar allegedly gave the employee cash to make these purchases.  A glance at the Dolce and Gabbana online store shows two pairs of shoes in their fall/winter collection, one of them a pair of combat boots for a whopping $895!  Assuming that Tamasar wasn’t taking his alleged date to a survivalist retreat or a tractor pull, but rather, perhaps, out for a night of dinner and dancing, he probably would have preferred something more along the lines of the other pair, black lace-up dress shoes, a relative bargain at only $795!  (Sneakers, starting at $395, are too hideous to accuse even Tamasar of purchasing.)  Does our resident high-rolling playboy really carry that much money around in his wallet?  Must be nice working at the Chelsea!

            Maybe Tamasar intends to pay for his costly shoe habit with the severance money he presumably stands to receive if and when the Chelsea is sold.  The ex-employee writes: 

86. Tamasar indicated that his contract with Chelsea 23^rd St. Corp would end with the sale of the Hotel.

87. Tamasar further indicated that the office employees [including, presumably, himself] would receive severance pay if and when the Hotel sold.

88. Tamasar was extremely eager to get the Hotel sold, and leave his employment at the Hotel.

            Our talks with another ex-employee serve to confirm the deposed ex-employees allegations.  The second ex-employee also alleges that Arnold Tamasar regularly sent office employees on his personal errands.  And though the second ex-employee doesn’t know specifically of any severance package, he or she told us that when Tamasar received his contract with the hotel, (when he returned from a month long leave in May 2010) the proud new Lord of 23^rd St. waved said document around the office triumphantly, declaring that he had been brought in not to manage the Chelsea, but to aid in its sale!

            This is a truly inspirational, rags-to-riches story worthy of Horatio Alger: from lowly bathroom specialist to highly compensated demolition expert, trampling 128 years of tradition beneath his overpriced designer shoes.  And although the combat boots would have worked better for that, soon there’ll be no need to walk at all anymore.  Unfurl thy golden parachute and fly, Tender Tootsie-Tsar!

LSD in Water at Chelsea Hotel Causes Mass Hallucination of Hostile Takeover

The personal injury lawsuit of Arthur Nash  vs. David Elder, Chelsea 23^rd St. Corp, BD NY Hotels, et. al. is getting more interesting every day.  In an attempt to avoid being served in the case, Elder, who was once so proud of being owner, vice president, and manager of the Chelsea, is now claiming that his only connection with the hotel is that he manages the Piri Thomas trust (comprising 16 percent of Chelsea 23^rd St. Corp. shares).  In a sworn affidavit, Elder writes:

I am not an owner, part owner, vice president, or proprietor of the Hotel, nor am I a member of the hotel’s Board of Director’s. . . . I, in my individual capacity, am most certainly not an owner of the Hotel in any way, shape, or form. . . . I am far removed from ownership. . . .

 Firstly, I do not recall ever having been forwarded a single piece of incoming mail, or notified of a single incoming phone call, from the Hotel.  Secondly, I cannot help, nor can I be expected to help, the fact that certain mailing lists and telephone lists still have the hotel listed as my address despite my April 2010 departure. . . . 

 I noticed in Plaintiff’s counsel’s affirmation that she refers to various websites containing articles referring to me as either an owner of the Hotel, heir to the owner of the Hotel, or Vice President of the Hotel. . . . Again, I cannot help what people write about me, all I can do is set the record straight with respect to my relationship to the Hotel, which I have done here. . . .  
Finally, I am puzzled by Plaintiff’s allegation that I maintain a room at the Hotel. . . . This allegation is completely false. . . I would like to know with whom Plaintiff’s counsel spoke when she called and asked to be connected to “my room”. . . . In any event, to be clear, I do not, nor have I ever, maintained a room or a residence of any kind, at the Hotel.

Well, I sure am glad we’ve cleared that up.  Apparently the residents and staff of the Chelsea Hotel have all been under some sort of horrible mass hallucination for the past four years.  As Elder himself notes, countless journalists must have been tripping their brains out along with us when they identified Elder as owner or vice president.  Former manager Glennon Travis must have drunk deeply of the electric koolaid as well, for, in a sworn affidavit in another case (BD NY Hotels LLC. Vs. Chelsea 23^rd St. Corp.), he writes: 

David Elder, one of the Chelsea’s executives and board members, utilizes one of the guest rooms for approximately 28 days per month, and effectively lives at the Hotel.  

Even Elder himself was apparently deluded, since he regularly signed his name to DOB permit applications as Vice President. 

            Let’s all close our eyes tight and click our heels together and repeat three times, “Bring Back the Bards!  Bring Back the Bards!!  Bring Back the Bards!!!” and then when we open our eyes maybe this long nightmare will be over, this cabal of lying thieves will be gone, and Stanley and David Bard will be back behind the front desk where they belong.  Ed Hamilton

Chelsea Hotel Manager Arnold Tamasar Accused of "Walking" Guests

A former employee of the Chelsea Hotel has come forward with new allegations about the management practices of Arnold Tamasar.  In an e-mail, he writes:

When I first interviewed with Arnold, the first words out of his mouth were "We don't walk people"  Walk being a hotel term for purposely overbooking, and then having to send the person to another hotel.  That turned out to be a big lie, and more than anything else it led to me quitting. 

In particular, one weekend May 13-16 they were overbooked by more than 18 rooms.  I noticed this more than two weeks in advance.  I sent [name redacted] and Arnold an email stating : "I see that we are overbooked by 18 rooms.  Is this possible?  I need specific instructions from management as to how I am supposed to walk more than a dozen people at a time when every hotel in New York is sold out.  I don't mean to sound curt, but as the overnight guy I am the one who will have to face the anger of these people."  I am quoting directly from my paper copy of the email.

I never received an answer, and for the next week I sent the same email daily.  After about five days I received this six-word reply via email from Arnold:  "We are aware of the situation."

As the weekend of May13-16 approached, they continued to book rooms that we did not have.  By the time I quit on Sunday the 8th, they were up to 26 rooms overbooked.   The reason for this is money.  If someone shows up for their room, they just leave it to the night guy to break the bad news.  But if someone is a no-show or is delayed because of weather, they go ahead and charge them for a room that does not even exist.  If this is not criminal fraud, it is certainly unethical and deceptive.

The practice of "walking" is nothing new.  But I have never in my many years in the hotel industry known of a hotel that so grossly overbooked.  In any other hotel, when they had to walk a guest, the hotel had a reciprocal agreement with other hotels and made arrangements to make sure that the guest had a room.  But the Chelsea had no such arrangement, no such contingency plan with any other hotel in the city.  They just left it for the overnight guy to bear the brunt of people's understandable anger.

This is just one story about what a lying piece of work that Arnold Tamasar turned out to be.  Feel free to use my name and info any way you choose.

Sincerely,  [NAME REDACTED]

Since we received this e-mail, another former employee has come forward to independently confirm these allegations.  Tamasar's veil of secrecy is quickly unraveling, as more and more members of his inner circle step forward to share their stories. Although we are unsure as to the legality of "walking" guests, it seems a very slimy practice indeed.  We would suggest that, if these allegations are true, Tamasar owes a refund to the no-shows whom he charged for rooms that were already booked.  Maybe the money should come from the bonus Tamasar will allegedly earn if and when the sale of the hotel is finalized.

 

 

Chelsea Hotel Manager Arnold Tamasar Parties Like It’s 1999

The Chelsea Hotel has been known for decades as the home of the non-stop party, and while some of you may have thought the party was finally over with the ouster of the Bards, we’re here to say it ain’t so, Joe.  The following is an excerpt from a sworn affidavit by a former hotel employee in a personal injury lawsuit, Arthur Nash, plaintiff vs. David Elder, Chelsea 23^rd St. Corp., BD NY Hotels, LLC, Charles Ferri, et. al., before the Supreme Court of the State of New York.  The document is especially revealing for the light it shines on Chelsea Hotel management practices.  The former employee writes:

 Office Environment

60.    The Office was incredibly unorganized.

61.     There was no clear hierarchy in the Office among the workers, with the exception of Tamasar who was the boss of the rest of us.

62.  I occasionally asked [name redacted] for guidance or advice as [name redacted] worked there longer than I had.

63.  Often, it felt like it was a party at the Hotel and in the Office.

64.   Tamasar takes pain pills on a regular basis, which may or may not be prescription.

65.   Tamasar came into the Office on many occasions and handed out his pain pills to employees.

66.   Office employees were encouraged to regularly consume Tamasar’s pain pills during work hours while on the job.

67.    On some occasions, Tamasar would take the Office employees out to eat and drink at a restaurant, and we would all consume alcoholic beverages. 

68.   On occasion, Tamasar and the Office employees would go out to drink alcoholic beverages excessively, including tequila shots, while the Office was closed during regular business hours.

69.   After drinking at a restaurant, Tamasar would send the Office employees home, rather than back to open up the Office for the remainder of the regular business hours.

 70.   Tamasar also sent me to purchase alcohol to bring back to the Office that Tamasar and the Office employees then consumed while at work during regular business hours.  This occurred a minimum of nine (9) or ten (10) times in my less than six (6) months spent working in the Office.

Party on, Tequila-tsar!

Seriously, though, we’ve repeatedly written in this blog that the post-Bard management is incompetent, and now it seems we have an insider who agrees with us.  Frankly, we had no idea things had gotten this bad.  The employee’s allegations, if true, would seem to raise serious safety, liability, and even criminal issues for the hotel.