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  • Mystery Management of the Chelsea Hotel

    Things are getting very confusing around here.  How in the world are we supposed to sort out these clues?  First we received this e-mail from Director of Operations Arnold Tamasar on March 22, 2010:

    Ed,

    Although we did not get off to a great start I wanted to wish you all the best.

    The Hotel Chelsea will always have a place in my heart. I will take and cherish all
    my fondest memories of the culture which exists here at the Chelsea. It is a remarkable place…and I will miss it.

    Arnold Tamasar

    Maybe somebody sent him some knickers in the mail.  We didn’t care one way or the other because we still had our beloved David Elder to take care of us.  However,  we recently came across this picture of  what purports to be a  good-bye card for Elder:

    Davidgoodbye 

    To complicate matters further, how does the recent visit to the Hotel by David Bard fit into the puzzle? 
    Davidbard 
    (Photo: The Smoking Nun)

    Mistress Marlene, won’t you please enlighten us?

  • Stonewall Veteran and Drag Performer Stormé DeLarverié Wants to Come Home to the Chelsea

    Matt Nestel of DNAinfo has written an illuminating article on the recent plight of our friend and neighbor, gay rights activist Stormé Delarverié.  Hospitalized for dehydration last month, Stormé—famous for the independent Storme and assertive spirit that led her to throw the first punch at Stonewall—was subsequently transferred to the psychiatric ward at St. Vincent’s, and then to a nursing home in Brooklyn.  Hopefully, Nestel’s article will bring this unfortunate situation to the attention of people in a position to aid Stormé.  Though she’s 89 years old and need a little bit of help, Stormé is of sound mind and body and by all accounts ready to come home.  We look forward to her swift return to the Chelsea.

      Another problem that Nestel draws attention to is the disposition of Stormé’s personal effects.  Stormé possessed an archives of documents and memorabilia relevant to both the early history of drag performance and to the gay rights struggle, as well as a collection of art works by early Chelsea Hotel residents.  Though in the article minority shareholder Marlene Krauss disavows all knowledge of the whereabouts of Stormé’s possessions—some of which may have been “misplaced” when Stormé’s room was cleaned during her absence—we suggest that she take a more active role in guaranteeing the safety of this material.

        Concerned friends and neighbors can visit Stormé at The Oxford Nursing Home,
    144 South Oxford St., Brooklyn New York.  (Photo from Bring Back the Bard's blog)

  • Ciaran Dwyer and Band on an Island Send a Tribute to the Bards from the other side of the pond

    Irish musician Ciaran Dwyer writes to the blog, "Recently i wrote a ballad that we will be including as a b-side on a 7" single that will be released in April (The song Back Disco from our record will be the A-side), Its an acoustic tune called "Chelsea Bards" and i have included a verse in the tune about the Chelsea and Bandonanisland Stanley. Its very rugged and raw. We spent the guts of that day in front of the window drinking beer in the Whitehorse tavern.
    Then after a short visit to Village wines, we made our way back to Room 325 and laid this down in one take." You can listen here: http://www.mediafire.com/?wgdt1xmzgzy

    The Mighty Stef is also on the ballad.

    "Chelsea Bards"

    Blisters on my feet signal another night, that I should have stayed at home, shouldnt have gone outside
    Theres murder in my local, wanted posters on the wall, Have you seen this man?
    I shouldnt have come home at all.

    Avenue A, What happened today?
    Its true what they say, that you only appreciate something, when you are far, far away.

    To Crazy Village nights, under New York City lights, All the times we fell,back to the Chelsea hotel
    To the sights we never see, The things we'll never be, Tonight my friends we're free, On stools in the bowery.

    Lying on an unmade bed, whistling Tom Waits, In a Chelsea hotel room at 23rd and 8th
    Keep up the good fight , put Stanley back behind his desk
    Because a home without a fire, is a cold, cold place at best

    Avenue A, I walked you all day.
    And then In Doc Hollidays, we put Hank Williams on the jukebox and drank the rest of the night away.

    To Crazy Village nights, under New York City lights, All the while we fell,back to the Chelsea hotel
    To the sights we never see, the things we'll never be, tonight my friends we're free, on stools in the bowery.

    We Cant find the Whitehorse, you know we never can, but when we get there eventually, We'll have a whiskey for Dylan (Thomas)
    One for Liam Clancy, one for Ronnie Drew, one for her who cant be here, and one for me and you.

    Avenue A, I'm leaving today.
    Its true what they say, That you only appreciate something, when it gets taken away

    To Crazy Village nights, under New York City lights, All the times we fell,back to the Chelsea hotel
    To the sights we never see, The things we'll never be, Tonight my friends we're free, In New York City.

    Band on an Island – facebook



  • As Promised: Video of Star Lounge Mayhem

    Here is a two minute 40 second clip of a typical street scene in the early morning hours outside of the Star Lounge in the basement of the Chelsea Hotel. 

     
    Here's another video from earlier in the evening. Check out the hot girls. I must be getting old, but don't some of those girls look a bit young to be in a bar?

  • Early Morning Mash Up At the Star Lounge: An Eye Witness Tweets Out

    76777610_bigger

    1. Black Blair Warldorf gives us the inside dope on what goes on at Star Lounge on a typical night. Gee, sounds like the newly repaired cast iron landmark railing is already endangered.

      My hand is soooo swollen and so is my knee. I kicked in a storefront window and my leg popped….smh….alcohol is the devil

      about 5 hours ago via web

    2. Idk where I got all that strength from. Adrenaline is something serious, boy….about 5 hours ago via web
    3. the cops were like "M'aam get away from the car" lmaoo…the cops weren't even tryna fuck with me.about 5 hours ago via web
    4. Then they said "we're gonna arrest you" and the cops came. I threw myself on top of the cop car and begged them to arrest meabout 5 hours ago via web
    5. The female bouncer was too scared to touch me, so 2 male bouncers tried to escort me out. at which point I punched one of them in the faceabout 5 hours ago via web
    6. I picked up the metal soap dispenser and threw it at the mirrors in the bathroom. Then I smashed up the sinkabout 5 hours ago via web
    7. Then I hopped over the balcony, ran back into the club and proceeded to tear up the place looking for my bag.about 5 hours ago via web
    8. I don't remember doing any of this cuz I blacked out in a fit of drunken rage, but the report is I choked and punched the bouncerabout 5 hours ago via web
    9. lmaooo @ my @ replies….someone stole my bag and when i realized it was stolen, I proceeded to trash the place.about 5 hours ago via web
    10. So the report is that I destroyed the bathroom. Broke the sink. smashed up the mirrors. They tried to arrest me for vandalism smhabout 5 hours ago via web
    11. apparently I am mannishly strong lolol. 3 bouncers couldnt even hold me. My homeboy had 2 throw me over his shoulderabout 6 hours ago via web
    12. RT@GlamaRebel Let's hope we can go back to Star Lounge after @Overfab mash up the whole inside a there and gave bouncer a black eye #truthabout 6 hours ago via web

  • Chelsea Free-For-All:Breakdown of Authority Leads to Destruction of Property

    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.

    Chelsea broken rail frontal copy 
    (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 23rd 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.

    Newaftermath1
     
     
     


  • Chelsea Hotel Multi-Bar Scheme Abandoned For Now

    Due to continued interest in David Elder’s harebrained scheme to open two bars in the Chelsea Hotel lobby—one in Stanley’s office and the other behind the front desk(!?)—and maybe an Argentinean restaurant somewhere or other in the hotel, we felt it was time to give our readers a summary of what has occurred:

    On January 11, Elder appeared before the Community Board 4 Business Permits & License Committee (Chelsea Now Jan 14-27) to ask for a liquor 42-16934908 license for the two new bars.  Unfortunately for him, the committee didn’t have enough members to form a quorum, and, in addition, Elder had conveniently failed to post the notice of his application in the hotel.  Consequently, he was obliged to come back at the next Committee meeting on February 8.

      On February 8, Elder failed to show up for the meeting (Chelsea Now Feb 25-March 10).  Had he shown the courage of his money-grubbing convictions, he would have been met with stern opposition from concerned Chelsea Hotel residents.  Undeterred by Elder’s absence, these residents made it clear  to the Committee that they would not tolerate the transformation of the Chelsea Hotel’s famous lobby—which is used by children, the elderly and the disabled—into a noisy hotspot for hipsters.  The Committee gave Elder one more chance to appear and state his case at the Committee meeting on March 8, saying that if he didn’t show this time they would recommend that his application be denied.

    Big surprise: Elder didn’t show.  But he got a break, because it seems he called the committee in advance and they allowed him to take his application off the agenda.  The latest on the issue, as reported by Nicole Breskin in DNAinfo, is that Elder has now postponed his application  indefinitely. (We'll be watching to see if the application reappears.)

      In related news, Star Lounge owner Charles Ferri (now in partnership with Noel Ashman, though Ashman sometimes denies it , received a recommendation for a liquor license renewal from the full Community Board on March 3, though not without many important stipulations being appended, including: that the present security firm be replaced; that the line queue west away from the hotel doors; lounge patrons will be kept out of the lobby and away from the front door; no velvet ropes; no outside promoters; no drinking or smoking near the lounge entrance; Ferri will provide a telephone number for complaints; Ferri and the new security firm will meet with residents.

      This at least shows that the Community Board is somewhat responsive to resident’s concerns. — Ed Hamilton

  • Singer Songwriter Mike Skall Gets a Plaque

    Mike Skall, an adopted Chelseaite weighs in with his take on the struggle to save the last outpost of Me Chelsea CD Cover 2 Bohemia.  May more like him rise from the ashes of the Chelsea's burned-out junky soul.
    Click on the banner to play Chelsea Hotel #9.
     

    Chelsea Hotel #9 (Bard Mix Demo)

    Chelsea Hotel #9 – 2009 Michael Skall

    Hey Artie where the hell did Stanley go?
    Did they take him with the garbage to the pavement down below?
    They're tearin' out your mailbox, they're sawing up your doors,
    Ain't this the fucking Chelsea Hotel anymore?
     
    Hey David why'd you leave your soul on the wall?
    Just another chapter, after the fall.
    We know you can't afford it, we know you're gone for sure.
    Ain't this the fucking Chelsea Hotel anymore?
     
    23rd. Street Cries…
    23rd. Street Dies…
    23rd. Street Cries…for the state you're in tonight.
     
    Hey Ed where have all the writers gone?
    Where are all the poems? Where are all the songs?
    Are they bleeding out like Nancy on the bathroom floor?
    Ain't this the fucking Chelsea Hotel anymore?
     
    23rd. Street Cries…
    23rd. Street Dies…
    23rd. Street Cries…for the state you're in tonight.
     
    If they were here now they'd probably stab 'em in the back.
    An artist needs a lover, not another greedy whore.
    This ain't the fucking Chelsea Hotel anymore.

  • Memorial Service for Willem Van Es

    Join Willem's family and friends as they celebrate his life on Monday, March 1 from 5-7 PM at the National Arts Club, at 15 Gramercy Park South New York, New York.

  • Hey Neil Ashman, Why Do You Need a Liquor License?

    Noel  Ashman today swore up and down to a reporter from dnainfo.com that he wasn't planning on opening anything in the Chelsea Hotel.  That's funny, since why else would his name be on the liquor license for Star Lounge which is in the Chelsea Hotel.  Furthermore, we were at a community board meeting just last Monday where Charles Ferri, the owner of Star Lounge, stated that Neil Ashman would be involved in Star Lounge and that this would clean things up and it would be a more respectable venue than it has of late.  Is somebody trying to pull a fast one here? And if so, is it  Neil Ashcan, Charles Ferri, or David Elder.  Click on the download link to download a copy of the liquor license and see for yourself. Download Nool Ashman

    Noelashcanapp