Thanks to Chris Schott for keeping the plight of the Chelsea in the news. Writing in the Observer today, he exposes important details of BDs plan to gradually destroy everything that makes the Chelsea great. He interviews four residents who were forced out (or are in the process of being forced out) of their apartments in the past month: Marta Rodriguez, who ran the facial salon, Musician Adam (Jaz Jericho) Rushfield, Painter David Combs, and Singer/songwriter Jann Paxton. He also interviews Artie Nash about his problems with the new management.
Marta is unfortunately already gone. That’s her reward for spending $50,000 to renovate the place. They’re not looking for anybody to pay any more in rent either: they are just going to warehouse this and the other spaces for reasons yet to be determined.
Adam, who gave a farewell concert on his last night in the Chelsea, owed some back rent—primarily because BD jacked up his rent unfairly (he was already paying market rate) and he refused to pay it. (We’ve written about his case in detail elsewhere in the blog.)
David, the cowboy artist who often painted in the lobby, was a very visible member of our community, and he will be missed. However, as David was outspoken in his support of BD, there are many Chelsea Hotel residents, who, quite frankly, don’t have much sympathy for him. But there was no malice in the things he said. He was merely naïve, and couldn’t see the writing on the wall: that there is something inherently wrong with BD coming in the back door like it did and taking the hotel away from Stanley Bard. David was blind to what seemed obvious to most of us: that this corporation was not brought in for the benefit of tenants, or to keep the hotel the old way. But whatever his opinions, David deserved to stay on —particularly as he fought so hard to stay here, painting daily in the lobby until he finally prevailed upon Stanley to give him a room.
We spotted a note demanding payment on Jann Paxton’s door a couple of months ago, but were not certain who lived in the room. Apparently Jann does not get out much to socialize with other residents for the very simple reason that he is bedridden with a terminal illness. For the same reason, I presume, he doesn’t have much income coming in and owes a lot of back rent. He has nowhere else to go and feels he will certainly die if he is evicted.
I suppose our question regarding this final case is the same as everyone’s: what kind of depraved person (or organization) tries to evict a dying man? Oh yeah, the same kind (Marlene Krauss and David Elder) that unceremoniously throws 72-year-old Stanley Bard out on his ass after 50 years of service. The same kind (David Elder) that deprives 80-year-old Piri Thomas of his rightful inheritance by tying up his money in the courts in the hope that he’ll die before he has a chance to spend it. Please, will someone in this organization show some compassion in Jann Paxton’s case!
To date, BD has forced out, by our count, twelve or thirteen Chelsea Hotel residents. There have probably been others that we don’t know about, and there will doubtless be more to come. There were extenuating circumstances in all these cases, but what BD is doing is going after the easiest cases first. They will work their way up to the rest of us in due time. The thing to remember it that we can’t afford to be complacent. If you haven’t already done it, seek legal help. And don’t suffer in silence: if they come after you, let somebody know. — Ed Hamilton
[Note: while Stanley backed out of the April 3rd panel discussion at the Museum of the City of New York due to a scheduling conflict, he has promised to give us a video statement to show at the event.]
Living with Legends 
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