Well, BD hasn’t come back, and as such, I just want to step back and point out—before we lose sight of this in our ongoing struggle–that their ouster represents a great victory for the residents of the Chelsea Hotel. And it’s a victory not only for us, but for tenants of New York as a whole, and for all those allied in the fight against gentrification. For here’s this huge real-estate firm, whose owners came out and stated at the outset that they intended to evict the permanent tenants, gut renovate the Chelsea, and turn it into a fancy boutique hotel. And where are Born and Drukier and their underlings now? It seems we’ve evicted them!
Sure, we had help from the downturn in the economy, and from the division between BD and the shareholders, and certainly from the press and the outraged public, but basically we got rid of them by organizing and staying together. We lost 15 of our fellow residents, and we haven’t yet won the war, but we’ve won a huge battle. And if a bunch of self-centered artists such as ourselves can do it, surely others can do it as well. Let’s throw the greedy profiteers out of our city and return it to the real New Yorkers. — Ed Hamilton (Photo: Robert Lambert’s most recent painting.) 
Living with Legends
Hotel Chelsea Blog
4 responses to “BD’s Ouster Represents a Great Victory for Anti-Gentrification Forces”
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Not sure if you caught it but last month we stopped into the Hotel Chelsea for a brief respite from the hotel takeover and checked out the art exhibit that was going on there. Yet before we could make it to the art floors, about eight FDNY guys came in and proceeded straight up the stairs.
Later we found out that a woman who has lived there for 30 years was being investigated for a hoarding problem. Now we might know who that is. The NY Times has an article about a young artist in residence Sam Bennett who befriended his neighbor Bettina Grossman, a recluse and prolific artitst who became the subject of Bennett’s documentary, “Bettina.”
After two months, Mr. Bassett finally entered No. 503 to find that Ms. Grossman was, in fact, fiercely guarding an apartment nearly stuffed to the ceiling with hundreds of boxes, forcing her to live in her hallway and sleep on a deck chair.
Yikes. Grossman was almost evicted back in 2006 by the old management team for her apartment’s frightening condition but a judge dismissed the petition. No doubt she was probably at the top of new management BD Hotels’ hit list until they were fired last week. Unless, there’s someone else hoarding stuff at the Hotel Chelsea.
Works of both artists, Bennett and Grossman, will be on display in the hotel’s ballroom this weekend as part of an art show for the hotel’s 125th anniversary titled, “Chelsea Hotel Through the Eyes of Photographers.”
Don’t miss the clips of the documentary that the NY Time is showing to see just how cramped up that space (which one resident calls The Bat Cave) was. Fortunately, Bennett has since helped Grossman excavate and organize her belongings.
Meanwhile, Page Six reports that a documentary about the hotel’s artistic history called, “Chelsea on the Rocks” will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
As for the fate of BD Hotels at the Hotel Chelsea, they are completely out of there as the management firm. The Living With Legends has all the latest details, including the presence of asbestos in the building. Maybe that has contributed to the crazy amount of art that happens here?
As for hotel guests who want to experience the bohemian outpost for a night or two, rates are holding steady at $99 a night but interestingly the hotel has no availability until May 26th.LikeLike
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We adore Robert Lambert’s work and his interesting use of color. Thank you for posting that.
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i could use some help sorting out my junk room too if you got the spare time. its really piling up lately. wow.
anyway, a big hand to those who stuck to their guns against BD hotels and haven’t stooped to sleeping with the enemy. the rest, who cares – they’ve sold themselves out.
there is no question that the elder/krauss partnership will falter. they can never win with an agenda like theirs. its rotten to its core. and its tarnishing a great old institution –loved by millions, coveted by many, but under seige by just twoLikeLike
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it would be great to hang this in the lobby. nice piece
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