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Another Icon of the Counter-Culture Likely to Fall

As if the hostile takeover of the Chelsea weren’t bad enough, now developers are going after another monument of the counterculture, this time the birthplace of Hip-Hop, 1520 Sedgwick Ave. on the outskirts 23flierspan_cityroom of the Bronx, where D.J. Kool Herc spun records back in the early 70s.  (NYT, Cityrooms Blog, "Tenants Might Buy Birthplace of HipHop" by Jennifer 8. Lee)  Though not quite of the Chelsea’s significance, the building is still a monument to a part of New York’s life and legacy that’s being swept under the carpet for the sake of the almighty dollar.  It’s also an outpost of affordable housing in a city that’s increasingly becoming merely a shopping mall for the super rich.

            There are some other parallels to the Chelsea as well.  The building is being bought by real estate mogul Mark Karasick for a reported $14 million, which is well beyond the $5-$6 million that housing advocates quoted in Lee’s article estimate it’s actually worth based on rental streams.  It’s comparable to the mystery as to why BD Hotels, a company that buys hotels, would agree to simply manage the Chelsea, a 15hiphop337 no-win situation where all they accomplish is to make themselves look like scum for desecrating an iconic institution.

As Lee’s article makes clear, Karasick knows that there’s only two ways to make money off of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue: either to throw out the rent-stabilized tenants, or to flip the building for a profit.  As for BD, the underlying motive is more difficult to fathom.  They are charging less for rooms than Stanley was, and their claims of high occupancy are almost certainly exaggerated.  We know of a few rooms that seem to have been warehoused for months after the long-term tenants vacated them.  (Stanley would have cleaned them up and rented them in 24 hours, tops.)  Add to that the huge increase in the size of the staff, and it’s hard to imagine that that this corporation is making more money than Stanley was.  Probably BD is looking for Img_1766 some sort of eventual ownership role in the hotel.  Are they trying to drive down the price by bankrupting
the hotel?

Whatever the particulars, there does seem to be some sort of financial scheme afoot.  Remember, Born and Drukier don’t care to put in a hard day’s work and pull down a regular salary.  These guys are after the big bucks. – Ed Hamilton

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10 responses to “Another Icon of the Counter-Culture Likely to Fall”

  1. Care Avatar
    Care

    It is very sad what is happening to all of these places, and to me horrible to hear what is happening to the chelsea. I have for a long time, been enchanted by this hotel, I used to walk by it everyday for nearly 5 years until I moved this year. Every time I looked at it, it had this magnetic, almost otherworldly pull that made me stop, stare, and imagine. It used to be a dream of mine to go inside and stay there, because of its amazing history. It seems as though so much of NY has lost its history, maybe not the obvious tourists attractions, but the odd places, like the chelsea. The places that have these amazing stories, that not everyone may know about. Then I start to wonder, well what can I do? Is BD trying to make the hotel go bankrupt, is it better or worse for people to stay there. No one wants to see the hotel go bankrupt and under the ownership of those treacherous money hungry thugs, but we also don’t want to support them in any way either. It is hard to imagine what the experience would be like now also, because it seems as though so much has changed since Mr. Bard left. It feels like one of those things where the more people who knew about it, maybe the more who would help…but, what can we do, besides writing a letter? I very much enjoy this blog, because I love history, chelsea, and also this hotel, and it gives a window or a looking glass almost to see what it’s really like in there. It is so sad what is happening.

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  2. Richard Avatar
    Richard

    Good old hotels…. no one wants to see them go. Great Hotels have character.

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  3. Blankgen78 Avatar
    Blankgen78

    Well said Care. I’m in the same boat, I wouldn’t even know where else to stay in New York.

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  4. Teddy Avatar
    Teddy

    Funny how you write nothing of BD Associate Robert DeNiro helping to save the Carnegie Apartments. Oh right, you cant put a negative spin on that news. Although I wouldnt put it past you Ed to turn it into some self serving “Victimized Bohemian” bullshit.

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  5. LP Avatar
    LP

    Teddy, sod off. It’s not bullshit to want to protect a unique and culturally valuabe institution like the Chelsea Hotel, Stanley’s Chelsea, from greed and tasteless real estate thugs. (Thanks, Ed.) Anyone who thinks it is bs has no soul. You re either a BD groupie, a Rubenstein PR flak or the resident right wing conservative. Regardless, you are the one who is full of shit.

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  6. David Combs Avatar
    David Combs

    I’ll assume I’m the resident right-winger (although I’m not the only one) but I can’t take credit for Teddy’s insightful comment.
    I think some good news now and again might be a good thing on this blog although I am fond of reading how Ed’s brain works. For example:
    “They are charging less for rooms than Stanley was, and their claims of high occupancy are almost certainly exaggerated. We know of a few rooms that seem to have been warehoused for months after the long-term tenants vacated them.”
    Charging more does not necessarily mean higher profits. If you have an affordable product more people are likely to buy it and, as you might expect, when that price increases the numbers of potential buyers get fewer and fewer. What good is a $800 dollar a night room if you can’t sell it? And how does Ed know that the occupancy is exaggerated? To prove his point he looks at rooms of former residents that have yet to be turned over. Ed, if the rooms were never available in the first place then it has no bearing on the numbers of people who have stayed here since the take-over. But this of course doesn’t matter. If BD had increased the prices Ed would be calling them Greedy Bastards, if BD was expediently turning over rooms of Ex-residents Ed would be bemoaning their rush toward profit making.
    Ok, that should be enough to keep my detractors frenzied but in the spirit of speculation LP, you are either a potted meat sandwich, an amorphous green ooze, or a self-hating intolerant fascist who takes other people’s opinions as personal insults and is doomed to live a life of self imposed misery. Regardless I thank you for the color you have brought to my life and the warm heartedness you have shown to others.

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  7. LP Avatar
    LP

    None of the above. But your response says to me that you are the “self-hating intolerant fascist who takes other people’s opinions as personal insults and is doomed to live a life of self imposed misery.”
    Cheers.

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  8. David Combs Avatar
    David Combs

    Other great retorts to consider:
    I’m rubber – you’re glue…
    Shut up!
    ;P

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  9. Kev Young Avatar
    Kev Young

    In Britain , our bastions of creativity face attempted takeovers all the time. I am glad to say that continued support from regular supporters does work. I frequent the much loved French House in Soho , home to Francis Bacon , Lucian Freud , Dylan Thomas , Nina Hamnett et al over the years. It was run by Gaston Berlemont , who sadly has expired , but his head barman now runs the place. Cell phones are barred , there is no music. Conversation is encouraged. As a result , you can ALWAYS have a conversation with a fine array of interesting , some may say eccentric characters. They may well be bohemians , or they may be simply individuals who enjoy good wine , fine atmosphere and the freedom to think and talk openly. Down the way from the French is the Coach and Horses , once run by the rudest landlord in London , Norman Balon , and home to Peter O’Toole , Jeff Bernard , Private Eye , Kaith Waterhouse and so on. Norman has thrown in the bar towel but the pub continues. The beer is still tepid , the sandwiches mediocre but the toilets have been cleaned up and the same clientele who still breathe still frequent the pub. I could go on , but without the client support and love the fat pigs will succeed in ruining true oases of free thought and speech. We do have a duty guys to stick together and be solid in our lifestyle. Just an advisory note from the other side of the pond.Oh , how do Ed and keep up with the persecuted bohemian bit old chap.Tata.

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  10. FTOT Avatar
    FTOT

    Bohemians are an endangered species, especially in new york.

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