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Hotel Chelsea Blog
Posted in Bard Family Ousted
13 responses to “Chelsea Hotel Lobby Desecrated for Fun & Profit”
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“Chelsea Hotel Lobby Desecrated for Fun & Profit”
And of course they gave no advance notification of this. Furthermore they will not indicate whether the art is going to go back up once their “redecoration plans” have been completed. For all we know the Larry Rivers painting as well as Joe Ando’s “horse head” painting are hanging in Chetrit’s living room.
They have given no indication that the art will be returned. In fact they give no indication of anything.
We can only expect many more surprises in the future.LikeLike
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Desecrated is the perfect word. I don’t even know what to say, I just hope the hotel opens again.
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Whoever called him “ChetRat” first nailed it right on the head.
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This is HIS building for God’s sakes… why would he have to report to anybody !!?
the guy just paid over $80,000,000 cash for this building and has the rights to do WHATEVER the fuck he wants with his building…
He will make this a very profitable hotel and restore it to its full potential.. but why should he keep anybody updated on what he’s doing !LikeLike
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It won’t be long until it doesn’t even look like this anymore. I’m glad I still got the chance to stay at the Chelsea, when it was still in its old form. It will be sadly missed…
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You can’t be serious.
And NO, he can’t do whatever the fuck he wants with the building, as you so eloquently put it. Money can’t buy you love, among other things. The hotel’s allure depends entirely on it’s history. Erase that, and you have NOTHING.LikeLike
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Chetrit didn’t pay – a partnership he belongs to paid – and it was $77million, not over $80million. The contract of sale would determine whether or not it can legally hang in his living room. The fact is, the hotel was sold with fixtures… the artworks all belong to the hotel – other than the ones that were on loan, and they’ve made it bloody hard to get back the ones that were merely on loan. What I fear is, considering the problems and last minute wrangling he had getting the finances together to make the purchase, Chetrit is probably going to sell off the artwork to finance the renovations. As Resident clearly and accurately stated, the value of the Hotel is in its history, and the artworks are an enormous part of that history. He would be a fool to get rid of the art, then again, he’s a fool not to have immediately rehired Stanely Bard to run the place. The residents trust Stanley more than anyone, and he would have told Chetrit that you can’t pull the art without telling the residents what the hell is going on. People don’t live there because it’s convenient or affordable, nor do they live there because it’s slick and stylish. People live at the Chelsea, and plunk money down to spend the night at the Chelsea, because it IS the CHELSEA. Whitewash that and you’ve just flushed the entire investment down the tube, Eli.
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Eli, if you have that opinion of this ordeal, than you have obviously never witnessed or experienced the hotel. The Chelsea has this aura, that can’t be bought, or decorated, it comes from everyone that has ever stayed at the Hotel, everything that has ever happened at the Hotel. No money, no matter how many zeroes, will EVER be able to put back into it, what Chetrit has taken from it.
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We await the fate of our Room 101 drawing with interest.
The treatment of staff and residents seems incredibly callous from this side of the Atlantic.
Money doesn’t talk it swears.
Jo & Ian DennisLikeLike
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Because he has tenants. And New York City recognizes their rights more than Chetrit’s. And regardless, just out of courtesy, he should be informing people of his plans.
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The energy and vibe that surrounds that building, and will always surround that building as long as it stands, will not make a profitable hotel or condo for tourists or professionals.
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It breaks my heart to see the walls of the Chelsea empty… bare… lifeless. If you want to remember the art-covered walls, here’s a video I made last year that shows lots of art-covered walls at the Chelsea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNWz8tE1d0w
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Gawd. THAT is the lobby? Sure reeks of history, eh?. I’ll never bring a visitor to the city in there to soak up the atmosphere they’ve gutted. Certain things in contemporary life have special rules. Like, if the president calls you for help, you do it. Doesn’t even matter who is in office. If Neil Young or Paul McCartney ring you up, you do it. No questions, and on the first plane.
If the Chelsea could talk, rang me up and said “it hurts” I would be buying my ticket now.
I would say to show a little respect, but it already looks like the new owners aren’t. Exactly what is the resposibliity of owning a landmarked building entail? That was a Larry Rivers painting. It is now a doctors office Jim Linderman editor Dull Tool Dim BulbLikeLike
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