Living with Legends

Hotel Chelsea Blog

recent posts

about

Category: Hotel Chelsea

  • INSIDE: THE CHELSEA HOTEL

    Julia Calfee has lived and photographed in the Chelsea Hotel for four years.  "When I photographed at the Chelsea Hotel, I would be staying in a space or situation for hours.  Time would pass and my presence would become less and less visible.  Sometimes I would even disappear." "People are always asking me what it’s…

  • Holy Smokes, A Real Live Bohemian Sneaks In on BD!

    Its taken two months of close scrutiny but we finally spotted a guest who must have booked his room while Stanley was still in charge. I’m sure that many of you who live here have noticed the tall skinny guy dressed in hippy garb sitting in the lobby for the past couple of weeks.  Well,…

  • A Page From Chelsea’s History

    Historian and author of a forthcoming history of the hotel, Sherill Tippins writes to remind us that the present era is not unique in New York history, or the history of the Chelsea Hotel itself:   NYC, hotelwise: With the economy soaring and plenty of freed-up capital circulating, investors started building ranks of fashionable new…

  • Still Unwanted

    Everytime we turn around this sign is in the elevator.  We’re getting pretty tired of it.  Could one of you artsy types make a new one?      Remember, August 20 is the date that the courts will decide if Elder is fit to walk among men. Since neither the Chelsea nor Piri Thomas wants…

  • The Chelsea For SALE?

    Horrifying rumor/news from curbed.com.  We’ve heard rumors that this was going to happen.  Could it be true?  Stay tuned. Tantalizing, unverified gossip! The Chelsea Hotel is for sale, with an asking price of $90 million. Broker Nigel Shamesh of NSNYRE supplies the commentary: "A link got sent to a few of us broker/principals, hardly a…

  • Lodging vs. Hospitality: Andre Balazs Speaks Out Against BD Hotels

    In my quest to learn more about Andre Balazs – projected designer of the new and improved Chelsea Hotel – I found so much information that I finally got tired of reading about the guy before I even had the chance to make fun of him. And anyway – though I reserve the right to…

  • Screwing Artists Left and Right

         In an article in the NY Post last Thursday, it’s reported that ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is suing Hiro Ballroom in the Maritime Hotel for hundreds of thousands of dollars for playing songs without paying the artists royalties.  BD Hotels, of course, owns the Maritime, and it’s no accident…

  • More Whining From the Artsy Types

    In an odd little item in The New York Post yesterday, Born and Drukier of BD Hotels claim to have increased revenue without slashing room rates.  Be that as it may, for me the most revealing part of the article – not attributed to Born and Drukier , but still I assume, reflective of their…

  • Sorry Marlene, We’re Just a Bunch of Dumb Artists Here

    In a recent amNY article, Marlene Krauss  M.D., M.B.A., Pld, board member and mastermind of the hostile takeover of the Chelsea Hotel, seems to have finally put her finger on it when she says, “I think the tenants don’t understand what is happening, that this is all for their benefit.”       The diabolical Stanley…

  • Guests both Human and Otherwise Mistreated at the Chelsea: Ira Drukier Addresses the Issue

    Lulu Selby, a gallery owner who represents some of the artists who live here at the hotel, has been staying here since July 17.  Last week, she had an extremely unpleasant encounter with the new director of operations.  Her full story is below.   Lulu contacted Ira Drukier (the D in BD Hotels for the uninitiated)…