Living with Legends

If you were wondering what all that jackhammering in the basement was about, we now have the answer.  Our beloved Star Lounge is reopening on Saturday as “The Chelsea Room” (Wall Street Journal, 10/5/10).  This will not be an ordinary club, but will feature exposed original brick from (of course) 1883, and 150-year-old wood from an upstate New York barn.  (So that’s the source of that manure smell wafting up through the air shafts!)  No mention yet on whether the dozen or so 20-foot steel beams they erected to shore up the walls they demolished will also be exposed.

      The club is being run by two guys named Artin Bey Archer and Marcus Bifaro, and we’re sure they can be trusted to run a orderly establishment that respects the rights of Chelsea Hotel residents.  On the other hand, Charles Ferri must be lurking behind the scenes somewhere, since he was unable to transfer his liquor license.

       Other notable features of the club include vintage chandeliers—which must be hanging at eye-level, since the ceiling is only about 7 feet tall—and art work “found” in the Chelsea Hotel.

      Finally, according to Bifaro, drinks will start at what he apparently regards as the rock-bottom price of $13, since, “We don’t want to ruin people’s lives so they can’t pay their bills.”  Funny, we always thought alcohol was supposed to ruin your life!

Earlier coverage of Charles Ferri & Star Lounge: Crackless Black Hole of Club Land, Hazardous Waste Company Clears Out Star Lounge, Chelsea Free for All, Chelsea Layabout's Cafe, Violence at Star Lounge, Chelsea Hotel Multi-Bar Scheme, Why do you Need a Liquor License?  Pick your Posion