Chelsea Hotel Gala at the Players Club

More Press, More Support for the Chelsea! »

“You can buy the Chelsea Hotel, but you don’t own the Chelsea Hotel, the Chelsea Hotel owns you.”

~ resident Brian Bothwell, filmmaker & photographer ~

The building’s famous exterior (melfoody, flickr)

Tenants, Lawyers, Politicians - Voices Heard by WNYC News »

: press for the Chelsea Hotel as coverage on their cause starts to explode into the media!

and NYC council members speak out on behalf of the Hotel!

“’The landlord of one of Chelsea’s iconic buildings has done less than nothing to improve these conditions,’ said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. She added, ‘in fact, turning a blind eye and deaf ear to them only makes them worse.’

Neither Chetrit nor his lawyer, Fred Daniels, could be reached for comment.

The 12-story building on W. 23rd Street – which over the years has drawn artists and celebrities like Patti Smith and Bob Dylan for extended stays – was purchased by the Chetrit Group last year for close to $80 million. In December 2011, tenants sued Chetrit demanding that he repair unsafe conditions at the building.

Samuel Himmelstein, a lawyer for the tenants going to court, accused Chetrit of trying to drive long-term tenants out of the hotel. “You know you come in, you make conditions miserable, you start eviction cases against people and then you dangle money in front of people in the hope that they’ll take it since their lives are so miserable here.

‘It’s the kind of harassment we used to see in the 70’s and 80’s. It’s come back at the Chelsea,’ Himmelstein added. His firm is also representing several of the tenants facing eviction proceedings.

There are a total of 160 rooms in the building. About half were occupied by long-term tenants when Chetrit bought the building, according to Himmelstein.

Mary Ann Rose is one of those tenants. She has lived at the Chelsea Hotel since 1983. The 62-year-old artist says she has mold in her walls from water that regularly pools outside the window of her eighth floor apartment.

‘It becomes a permanent pigeon birdbath. So that’s what started the mold,’ said Rose. She is a member of the Hotel Chelsea Tenants Association. There are 43 members of the tenant association, 36 of whom are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in housing court.”

Health Hazards at the Chelsea »

Local Politicians Visit Chelsea Hotel to Denounce the Chetrits »

: from Living with Legends: Hotel Chelsea Blog by Ed Hamilton

: the way i saw the Chelsea yesterday…

as i walked up to her to begin our event, i noticed El Quijote peeking out beneath her to support…

…everyday she reveals a new part of herself…