Living with Legends

We don’t have all of the details yet, but David Elder’s New Assistant, Andrew Tilley, is apparently all set to unveil his new plan to “rehabilitate” the Chelsea. As a teaser, he has posted the schematics for the plan in the hotel lobby (no more dueling photo-books thank you very much). As you can see, he plans to renovate the façade significantly – landmarking be damned – and to get rid of that pesky El Quixote, despite their 75-year-lease. Though we had been hoping for a Starbucks, it seems Tilley has come up with an even better idea: an M & Ms Store! Tilley is used to working in Times Square, you see, when he could just pop around the corner at any time for a sugar fix. We’re hoping to get a big, strapping M & M Man Straddling the Chelsea sign, but plans may not have been finalized yet and I certainly don’t want to jinx it. I also hear that the WWF is looking at the former Capitol Fishing storefront.

Though undeniably a visionary of the first rank, you’ll notice that Tilley’s schematic also features crazy people screaming out the windows and threatening to jump from the roof. This reflects Tilley’s dawning realization that, while some things can be changed, others will always remain the same. — Ed Hamilton