Living with Legends

After hiding away for almost a month, manager Andrew Tilley has finally heeded Legends’ advice and broken his silence with the press (Chelsea Now, August 1-7, Scott Stiffler). The result is a transparent nattering of corporate-speak in which he tiptoes around addressing residents’ concerns.

Evictions
First and foremost on every tenant’s mind is whether or not the wave of evictions—16 in the year since Stanley’s ouster—will continue, and whether it will affect them personally. Though he doesn’t address the issue directly, Tilley says: “A lot of our existing tenants are very special people who made the hotel what it is today. We want to preserve that, but also create new history moving into the 21st century.” Yeah, a lot of us are special, but apparently a lot of us aren’t. Which I suppose explains why the hotel is in court with about 40 of us because they are refusing to acknowledge that our apartments are rent stabilized. In addition, only last week several residents received notices on their doors advising them to pay up in three days or face eviction proceedings. Actions speak louder than words. Remember who hired Tilley.

Construction
Tenants are worried that Tilley is set to begin a major construction project and then try to pass along the costs to the residents as capital improvements—in some cases raising rents over the threshold of luxury decontrol. Tilley seems to confirm our fears when he says that he intends to, “. . .refurbish and renovate the hotel while preserving the heart and soul of the building.”

Repairs
Repairs are of course different from new construction, but Tilley has nothing to say on this matter. If your floorboards are rotted through, Tilley is responsible for providing you with a new floor. If your ceiling is leaking, Tilley is responsible for fixing it. The sorry state of this building is one of the main reasons why Tilley can’t obtain the necessary permits and certificates, chief among them a Certificate of Non-Harassment. Yes, it is indeed considered harassment for Tilley not to make the necessary repairs to your apartment. Ask Tilley to make any repairs you need, and if he doesn’t (which he won’t for anything major), dial 311 and complain.

New Security Guards
     This is not the way to respect the history of the Chelsea. Tilley says: “I’ve worked in many hotels in NYC, and every one has had a security guard present,” and implies that the presence of these new guards is standard and necessary. But the truth of the matter is, we’ve always had security (those who have the job blend right in), just not professional guards standing around in the lobby and walking the halls to intimidate people. Isn’t it funny that the one real case where the guards have acted was to threaten, harass and ultimately assault a permanent resident who was exercising his right to free speech? Now, however, Tilley cites another case, saying, “Two days ago, we had a guest who required security because they were being accosted by an inebriated person.”
      Legends recently received information about an incident that sounds curiously like what he’s referring to. Was the “inebriated” person by any chance a permanent resident, simply acting in his or her normal, wacky manner? (Perhaps the guest just needed to be educated as to what sort of hotel he was in.) Whatever it was, I’m sure the longtime staff could have handled it without the intercession of the professional guards. If anyone knows more about this incident, please write in to the blog so we can get to the bottom of this.  — Ed Hamilton