6/18/2007

Chelsea Hotel Homogenized.

I just found out about this, this is so sad. Stanley Bard the manager of the Chelsea Hotel, who has worked there for 50 years has been forced out by the Board of Directors.I had a p/t job at the Chelsea Hotel in the mid 1980's and remember Stanley fondly. NYC is really becoming land of the bland fast and furiously. Today is his last day, read his thoughts here. I don't even want to get into who is doing it, I leave that to the real estate blogs(ie:enablers).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

wait, wait-- did you say "enablers"? a radical! you mean "ironic" real estate blogs don't actually DRIVE the radical gentrification by providing an armchair tour for brokers & potential residents alike? say it ain't so!! it reminds me of those people who wanted to be writers, REAL journalists, etc. and gave up but took big $$$ in advertising. they call themselves... "creative."

not that Chelsea wasn't gone long ago-- Midnight Records RIP (i never had any problems with J.D.) as the last non-art gallery reason to even go there-- but it's sad to see Stanley get the stick like that.

(well, the great Jazz Record Center is still there too if you have some $$$ to blow.)

Q: was Herbert Huncke there during your time?

There's a GREAT Ronnie Elliott song, "Room 100," about Sid & Nancy & hey, speaking of punk, somebody cue up The Dils "Class War." (The Dils!)

thanks,

wwib

Lisanne said...

My take on the real estate blogs...yes, good point, they do drive gentrification quicker, just look what has happened in the past 2 years all over nyc! I mean change happens, change is inevitable, but does everybody really need to know the value of of every friggin' condo, coop, building, land? What ever happened to roots? What a novel idea, what about buying something because you want to stay a while, rather than, "we will live here 3 years, sell it and move to..." a lot of people on those blogs would start flaming me as a "loser" and "why didn't you buy when you could afford etc.." I actually read a horrible discussion on a blog where a person (from that new "up and coming neighborhood,Kensington,god help us all)had the audacity to tell someone with a similar opionion as I to "move to Staten Island" until you can afford Brooklyn. I guess that person doens't know that most of Brooklyn's former residents who are now union electricians, etc...pay alot to live in Staten (or as i like to call it Satan Island)...i'll stop now because I really don't like starting the day angry!!!

Yes,Herbert Hunke was at the C.H, I was there in 1984 ( i was a student & a teenager, worked as a file clerk for an archivist who worked out of the hotel, i din't work FOR the hotel, to clear up any confusions)i was lucky enough to see alot of the greats before they croaked...