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
BD Hotels sued Arthur Nash in housing court, alleging that his apartment was not rent stabilized. But last week, when the judge asked BD to provide evidence to that effect, they couldn’t do it, and didn’t even try. Arthur, on the other hand, had a letter wherein BD admitted that another Chelsea Hotel resident was rent 
stabilized. The judge took one look at this letter and threw the case out. (He dismissed the case with prejudice, which means that BD can refile if they come up with new evidence, but chances are they won’t be able to.)
Arthur’s case is important for another reason as well, because he represented himself, and it shows that tenants don’t need to back down from BD and their high priced lawyers. Judges in housing court don’t necessarily expect tenants to have lawyers, and they are likely to be reasonable if you do your homework as Arthur did, and know your rights.
Artie weighs in "... Krauss and Elder's attorneys came on with bullying tactics and it was under this pressure at least a half dozen residents i'm aware of left the hotel. there are probably more. But from the start their case consisted of a bluff; they got called on it and crumbled, actually admitting to [Judge Wendt] they had no proof to support the claim that has had us in courtrooms, researching and writing legal motions since last november. Moreover opposing counsel conceded they'd be unlikely to find that proof in the future. Some would call this type of lawsuit 'frivilous'. If there is a 'round two', the only consolation might be that we'd get to use the rest of the research in support of our counterclaims."
Artie Nash has won his case against BD's lawyers! Guess those banners won't be going anywhere after all. We'll post an interview with Artie a little later.
Yes, look at me now, I'm a Rock Star! Bobby DeNiro is my Best Friend. Go to hell Chelsea losers. You deadbeats can kiss my ass! (Gold ball brought to you by Tax Free Liberty Bonds) Also, all you millions of bloggers out there may want to know that we'll automatically cancel your reservation if we find your name in our system!
Ira Drukier at the Greenwich Hotel. Vanity Fair via down by the hipster.
Good news for the forces of sanity and sustainable development: Wall Street bankers are pulling the rug out from under hoteliers, taking away the loans that have been subsidizing all these hideous hotels they keep throwing up all around the city. That's what happened to Sam Chang, head of the McSam Hotel Group, New York City's largest hotel developer. "The city is being overbuilt," Chang says, citing a coming room glut that will drive down rates.
Though BD has just received the rubber stamp from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for an unnecessary hotel at 145 Perry Street, one that would totally alter the character of that quiet neighborhood, the changing real estate climate will hopefully lead the banks to reconsider and tell Born and Drukier to go take a flying leap from the top of the Pod Hotel.
BD also needs a loan in order to gut renovate the Chelsea, or whatever the hell it is they plan to do to us, and now it's not looking so good for them in that respect. As Stanley Bard said in his recent Video statement at the Museum of the City of New York , "We're not always going to be in this bubble. We're not always going to be in this economic boom, hotel wise." Well, it looks like his words are coming true already. BD needs to figure out who their clientele is (hint: adventurous artistic types who want a unique New York experience) if they want to last for long at the Chelsea. -- Ed Hamilton
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There's a new hotel on the horizon and it seems like the perfect place for Glennon Travis to continue his hotel management career now that he has gained some valuable experience here at the Chelsea. They're already touting the fact that Edie Sedgwick was a former guest!
BD hotels continue to slash the room rates at the Chelsea
38.9 million in tax-free Liberty Bonds: that’s what we’re giving Robert DeNiro and Ira Drukier for the privilege of
looking up at their new luxury hotel from the street. I was under the impression that these Liberty Bonds were for rebuilding ground zero – rather than for screwing up Tribeca. According to DeNiro, the Greenwich Hotel, set to open on April 1, will be “…a place for people whose sense of home combines sophisticiation and authenticity.” The hotel features duplex suites with 30-feet skylights and chef kitchens and a Shibui Spa with a lantern-lit pool. Shibui Spa?! What the hell?! Most authentic “New Yorkers” don’t even know what that shit is – though we know damn well we’re not invited. And our “sense of home” generally involves the concept that money-grubbers such as Drukier refrain from forcing us out into the street. (as he’s doing at the Chelsea Hotel). In what passes for a free-market economy, can’t DeNiro & Drukier pay their own way? (Photo: Newyorkology.com)
Last week the city council passed a bill making it possible for tenants to sue landlords for harassment in Housing Court. Great, I thought, at least it’s a step in the right direction – and I didn’t bother to think about it further. But then I ran into Dan Peckham, “NYC Real Estate Legend” on the street Saturday and he set me straight. He pointed out that tenants have always been able to sue for harassment at the DHCR, (Here's the form) and that furthermore, it still puts the burden on the tenant (the city, by itself, is still not going to go after harassing landlords). And even if the tenant wins, he still doesn’t get anything! The city gets the money from the pitifully small ($1,000 - $5,000) fine, which in any event is not enough to deter the landlord, who often stands to make millions, from further acts of harassment. As fanaticial as he sometimes sounds, Dan is generally right about these things.
Basically the law (Local Law No. 7) "creates a violation for harassment in and of itself, providing a new layer of protection for renters in New York City. Some of the actions that qualify as harassment under this legislation include: using force or making threats against a lawful occupant, repeated or prolonged interruptions of essential services, using frivolous court proceedings to disrupt a tenant’s life or force an eviction, removing the possessions of a lawful tenant, removing doors or damaging locks to a unit, or any other acts designed to disturb a lawful occupant’s residence. The law also prevents similar actions by third parties working on the landlord’s behalf."
Could it be part of Born and Drukier’s diabolical plot to deprive us all of the last shreds of our already tenuous sanity? The cars rattle by, one by one, like fully-loaded freight cars over a rickety old railroad bridge. Minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, the cars roll by, clackety clackety clack over the steel plates as my patience flows out like sand from the (blasted, noisy) hourglass of the days of my life.
Am I making any sense at all at this point? On Saturday we were awakened early in the morning by construction crews jack-hammering up the pavement. Oh well, it is New York; time to get up anyway. 
The racket went on all day. Still, about standard. But the workers left the road torn up, the long hole—stretching from 8th Avenue to the hotel--covered by a hastily placed series of steel plates. And they haven’t been back since.
One sleepless night was bad enough, but that second one was torture, and as I write this we are bunkering down for a third! We’ve called 311 repeatedly, as have any number of hotel residents and others on the street. We listened incredulously to their response: “we’ll send somebody to look at it in 10 days” (!!!!!)
Now, we’re no fools. We know they can secure those steel plates better than that. Better yet, maybe they can get back to work and finish up whatever it is they’re doing.
Our only suggestion to those of you who are suffering with us: Call 311 again if you haven’t already, and keep calling. That’s the only solution I can think of. Perhaps someone else knows another place to call and complain (like, whatever city department they are from). If so, don’t hold back on our account.
All joking aside, this has got to be bad for BD as well. An unsuspecting tourist checked into the room right next to us this afternoon—looked like a businessman—and all I could think was, oh you poor soul, you have no idea what’s in store for you. He’s probably from someplace quiet like Kansas too, He’ll no doubt be down at the front desk at 2 in the morning asking to be moved to a room on the back of the hotel. And if he doesn’t get it he’ll be asking for his money back. You can’t rent somebody a hotel room where it’s impossible to sleep.
So what about it, Born and Drukier? You guys are some real big shots and high rollers and all. Can’t you grease some palms or call in some favors or something?
In conclusion—literally--does anyone in the hotel have a revolver? I’ll generously spring for the ammunition, since I know we’re all going to be ready to blow our brains out before the sun rises again over our fair 23rd Street. -- Ed Hamilton
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