Living with Legends: Hotel Chelsea Blog

Chelsea Hotel On Lockdown

Now that hotel layabout David Elder has finally gotten a taste of power, it seems to have gone to his head completely.  He has taken to wearing bad suits, apparently cast-offs from the cut-rate funeral parlor, and worse, he has hired his own goon squad to stand in the lobby, to stalk the halls on un-specified errands of intimidation, and to walk down the street to the deli with him when he goes out to get a pack of Twinkies.  One of the goons has already assaulted a resident.  Any one of us could be next.

Do I really need to mention that this flies in the face of the beautiful tradition of freedom and tolerance that has prevailed at the Chelsea for 125 years?  It didn’t take this creep long to show his true colors, and I, for one, would rather see the building torn to the ground, brick by brick, than to see the home and the ideal that I have grown to know and love reduced to such indignity. -- Ed Hamilton

Chelsea Hotel Finances: Elder, Thugs, and Rubenstein Overpaid

As we’ve indicated earlier, Legends was able to obtain the court papers relating to BD NY Hotels vs. Chelsea 23^rd Street Corp.  Interestingly enough, these papers include an itemized list of the hotel’s expenditures over the last few months of 2007.  Rest assured, we are studying these closely to see where our rent money is going.
          Anyway, one of the highlights of the list are the payments to hotel layabout David Elder: $365.25 in July, $131.37 in August, $706.65 in November, and three payments of $706.65, $478.90, and 455.06 for a whopping $1640.41 in December.  (Unlike all the other expenses listed—including items such as carpet, carpentry supplies, furniture ordered by Stanley, accounting, legal—these payments to Elder are unexplained, though one time it does say, simply, “expenses”.)  Scarcely what we would call a valued employee—though he did get quite a raise in December.  And let’s not forget about the spacious apartment he has been allowed to use for 9 months free of charge!

            Also, between July and December, Marlene and BD spent $146,143.59 of the hotel’s money in legal fees, presumably at least in part to battle Stanley Bard, and another $26,285 on payments to accounting firms, presumably to dig up dirt on the old man (those accountants could learn a thing or two from the lawyers).  In addition “security requested by Marlene Krauss” runs the hotel $13,655.25. What the hell?! you ask.  Well, remember the goons that looked like rejects from the Sopranos that sat in the lobby for awhile?  These fine fellows were no doubt necessary  to prevent Stanley from overpowering David Elder and stealing the Larry Rivers painting from the wall.
            Perhaps most interesting, at least from our point of view, is the money paid to Rubenstein for “public relations/crisis management”: two payments of $45,000 each!  (Well, one for $45, 212.58—probably charged Marlene for copies or something.  Lawyers ain’t got nothin’ on them.)  And what did Rubenstein do, exactly?  Issue a couple of half-assed press releases and refuse to take calls from the media?  The whole Stanley Bard ouster turned into one hell of a big, fat, hairy public relations disaster for both BD and the minority shareholders.  Marlene, why didn’t you just offer us $90,000 not to write about you?  We wouldn’t have taken it, but we certainly would have appreciated the gesture. -- Ed Hamilton  (Photo: David Elder proudly displaying his sign making skills.  Maybe that's why he gets the big bucks.  By the way, that sign recently returned to bite him in the butt.)

BD’s Ouster Represents a Great Victory for Anti-Gentrification Forces

Well, BD hasn’t come back, and as such, I just want to step back and point out—before we lose sight of this in our ongoing struggle--that their ouster represents a great victory for the residents of the Chelsea Hotel.  And it’s a victory not only for us, but for tenants of New York as a whole, and for all those allied in the fight against gentrification.  For here’s this huge real-estate firm,  whose owners came out and stated at the outset that they intended to evict the permanent tenants, gut renovate the Chelsea, and turn it into a fancy boutique hotel.  And where are Born and Drukier and their underlings now?  It seems we’ve evicted them!
        Sure, we had help from the downturn in the economy, and from the division between BD and the shareholders, and certainly from the press and the outraged public, but basically we got rid of them by organizing and staying together.  We lost 15 of our fellow residents, and we haven’t yet won the war, but we’ve won a huge battle.  And if a bunch of self-centered artists such as ourselves can do it, surely others can do it as well.  Let’s throw the greedy profiteers out of our city and return it to the real New Yorkers. -- Ed Hamilton (Photo: Robert Lambert's most recent painting.)
 

David Elder's Twin Stops by The Chelsea

A tipster writes in to report that David Elder's twin made an appearance at the Chelsea last evening and Elder himself was none too pleased. He tried to bar his long lost relation from entering the ballroom.  When he came face-to-face with his doppleganger -- a reflection of his guilty conscience --he fled in terror to cower in the inner sanctum of his office. You can run Elder, but you can't hide. The truth will follow you to your grave.  The tipster even sent along some photos for our enjoyment.

Marlene Krauss Launches Desperate Hotel Chelsea Ad Campaign

Now that she has fired the elite BD Hotels from their job of managing the Chelsea Hotel, Marlene Krauss has launched an aggressive outdoor ad campaign to attract a new manager.  Obviously, she has quickly come to the realization that anybody who walks in off of the street could do a better job than Chelsea Hotel Board Member David Elder. If you're walking by on the street and got a spare moment come in and apply. Our standards are not real high at this time.  NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY -- OBVIOUSLY.
 

Chelsea Hotel Historian Weighs In On The 125th Anniversary

Chelsea Hotel historian Sherill Tippins has written in to provide us with this fascinating tidbit that we hadn’t known before:

      "I just rediscovered this little factoid while editing Part I of my book:
       The Chelsea Hotel's birthdate (the day it opened and residents began moving in) is Oct. 1, 1884."

So, the 125^th anniversary of the opening of the Hotel will be on Oct 1, 2009. 

Update: Piri Thomas Thwarts David Elder’s latest Rip-Off Attempt

David Elder’s various plots to fleece the elderly are not bearing much fruit lately.  His attempt to take Stanley Bard to the cleaners has now cost him and Marlene (and of course the other shareholders) a ton of money, as well as the last shred of their already tattered credibility.  And now a California judge has thrown out Elder’s appeal of an earlier decision that granted his stepfather, renowned author Piri Thomas (Mean Streets), the right to collect the $1.2 million in dividends of which Elder sought to deprive him.

To recap: Elder administers a trust, set up by his deceased mother, Betty Gross Thomas, consisting of shares representing 16% of the Chelsea ’s ownership.  The 81-year-old Thomas, a former Chelsea Hotel resident, is supposed to receive the dividends from this trust.  In 2001 Elder decided he wasn’t going to pay the dividends to Piri anymore.  So Piri sued Elder for the $1.2 million which Elder had failed to pay him. (Piri still had to pay taxes of $494,000 on the money!) 

This dispute has been going on since 2001, with Piri winning every round.  Even after they reached a settlement in March 2005—with Piri generously agreeing to pay Elder $177,500, presumably for his legal bills--Elder sued again, based on a bogus interpretation of a new law that had been passed by the California State Senate.  The trial judge tossed the case out, saying, basically, that it had already been decided.  Elder appealed again, which brings us to the present case, where the appeals court just ruled on April 10^th that there was no merit to Elder’s case, saying it was “. . .nothing more than an attempt to resurrect their prior claim under the guise of a new claim. . .”

At one point in their long battle in the courts, Piri sued to remove Elder as a Trustee for breach of trust.  For you see, Elder has a vested interest in depriving Piri of his money (as well as in prolonging the case), as, once Piri dies, Elder becomes the beneficiary of the trust.  As part of the earlier mentioned settlement, Piri dropped these charges—only to be sued by Elder in return.

            Although it appears that Elder is being manipulated by lawyers who are filling his head with dreams of becoming some sort of millionaire real-estate mogul, it doesn’t change the fact that he has proven himself both morally and fiduciarily unfit to administer the trust in question.  For this same reason, he should be removed from the Board of Directors of the Chelsea Hotel.
        Anyway, congratulations to Piri for his victory in a fight he did not seek.  Justice has been done, and let’s hope that this is finally the end to a truly shameful saga of greed and moral depravity. – Ed Hamilton

Asbestos Threat at Chelsea Hotel Revealed

     Legends has recently been able to obtain the court documents filed in BD’s suit contesting their termination by Marlene Krauss.  Among the more disturbing revelations is BD’s claim that there is still asbestos in the building.
     This is a ticking time bomb, and it is outrageous that the residents of this building have not been informed.  This could affect the health of each and every resident in the Chelsea Hotel.  (I guess now we know why you’re seldom around.  For God’s sake, there are children and ill people living here, Marlene.) When were you planning on telling us this?  We demand to be informed of the full extent of the asbestos threat.

Here is the relevant passage from the letter.

Marlene's Shame

Be sure to check out Chris Shott’s piece in The New York Observer about BD’s shameful attempt to evict a dying man, Jann Paxton.  So what about it Marlene?  Is it so important to win your war against Stanley Bard that you’re willing to abandon ever last shred of common decency?  We think that, as a show of good will, you should at least pledge not to evict Jann Paxton. -- Ed Hamilton

Marlene's War

Things are getting a little bit ridiculous here at the Chelsea.  This powerful, egomaniacal businesswoman, Marlene Krauss, who should have better things to do with her time, has, for the past 20 years, been engaged in a mindless and destructive Vendetta against the majority shareholder and former manager of the Chelsea Hotel, Stanley Bard.  Recently, with the aid of BD Hotels, Marlene was able to oust Stanley from the position he had held for almost 50 years.  Time to uncork the Champagne, right, Marlene?
         Surely you jest.  For we have reason to believe that Marlene is still going after Stanley, apparently determined to dig up the dirt on him—whatever that might turn out to be—in order to force him to sell his beloved Chelsea.  Marlene apparently so hates this small, elderly man--with an unreasoning ferocity bordering on psychosis--that even the wholesale demolition of the Chelsea is unlikely to sate her unholy bloodlust.  Will she rest when Stanley is thrown into prison to spend his last few years scrapping with young toughs and busting up rocks in a quarry?  We doubt it.  Even when Stanley is dead and buried, we expect Marlene to dig up his bones and grind them to dust with a mortar and pestle—to season her foul witch’s brew.

We have come to believe that the feud with Stanley is the root of Marlene’s disagreement with BD.  She wouldn’t let them do their job because she was more concerned with using this place to get back at Stanley.  Since BD—though hardly known for their good works--wouldn’t cooperate to this end, they’re out of here.  (We’ll have more on this in a later post.)

So where does that leave the tenants of the Chelsea?  Well, obviously, right smack dab in the middle of the battlefield.  Now we have no manager!  Can you believe that?!  Nobody’s running the place at all.  Nobody is making up the schedule for the workers, and nobody is here to pay them.  And what if there’s a fire, or some other kind of emergency?  Who’s going to make sure that the residents get out safely?  All kinds of transients and other strangers are in and out of this building every day.  Some of them may be crazy, or on drugs.  Who’s going to deal with such potentially explosive situations?

Anyway, regardless of Stanley’s supposed sins, why should we residents have to pay for them?  Is it just because we respect him and want him back?  Or is it that Stanley was the one who brought us into the Chelsea, and Marlene won’t rest until she wipes every last vestige of his influence from the building?

Stop it, Marlene!  Back off.  Enough’s enough.  If you can’t bring yourself to return the Chelsea to the Bards, then at least hire a manager who will run the place the way it should be run: as the haven for the arts it has been for 125 years. -- Ed Hamilton