Living with Legends

The bad situation at the Star Lounge, where fights have been spilling out into the street for months, has finally reached crisis proportions.  In the early morning hours of Saturday, March 20, Chelsea Hotel residents were kept awake for several hours by constant yelling and screaming as at least three fights broke out in front of Star Lounge.  (We have video which we'll post a little later.)  Then, the next night, in the early hours of Sunday,  March 21, another fight broke out, the battle becoming so intense that a fifteen-foot section of the historic cast iron railing in front of the hotel was snapped off at its base.

 
(Photo by Michele Zalopany)

    The problem is long-running and systemic: quite simply, there’s no one in charge at the Chelsea Hotel.  The hotel security sees no need to maintain safety in front of the hotel, or to even call the police, deferring to the bouncers of Star Lounge, who couldn’t care less if gangs run wild up and down 23^rd Street.  And why should they care?  Neither Charles Ferri nor David Elder has any authority over them.

    The increasing atmosphere of uncontrolled, unsupervised violence has become a danger to Chelsea Hotel residents, and to all residents of the Chelsea Neighborhood.  Star Lounge patrons, too, could have been crushed by the heavy iron railing, which apparently fell down the stairs into the Star Lounge entrance.  Imagine the lawsuit which would have resulted from that!  (Luckily, the hotel video camera should have captured this incident.  The tapes must be reviewed to determine who is responsible. )

Order must be restored, and the place to start is at the top.  Ultimately, the buck stops with Elder, who has to be able to control what goes on in the storefronts of the Chelsea.  If Charles Ferri insists on “running” this type of lawless establishment (or maybe “collecting the money” would be a more appropriate phrase), it’s up to Elder to give him his walking papers.  Elder, who clearly enjoys the trappings of authority, such as expensive suits and the attention of opportunistic sycophants, needs to step up to the plate and actually manage the hotel, or else he needs to step aside and find someone who can do his job properly.  The obvious solution is to bring back David Bard.