Chelsea Mourning

My, it's a busy day for bad new in New York City.

First, Joe Sitt's no-less-nauseating new plan for Coney Island. Then word that the clock is ticking for Gertel's bakery. Now, this sad tale about Stanley Bard, the manager of the historic Chelsea Hotel for 50 years, being forced out by the landmark's board of directors. Not only Stanley, but the whole Bard family, who has had part ownership of the residence since 1940. Starting Monday, Ira Drucker Associates management company will take over the day-to-day operations. The board had been pressing Bard to increase income, which is another way of saying "Squeeze some more cash out of those mother-lovin', good-for-nothin' artist types who take up all that valuable space in our potential cash cow!!"

According to the Living With Legends blog:

The actual ownership structure of the hotel is a closely guarded secret. It is known that Stanley’s father, David, in partnership with two men named Krauss and Gross, bought the hotel in 1940. (Stanley took over upon his father’s death in 1957.) These days, the part of the hotel that Stanley’s father owned is still in the Bard family, but the interests of the other partners’ families are represented by a board of directors. The board seems to have given Stanley a wide latitude in managing the hotel over the years—that is, apparently, until just recently. What happened is that the hotel simply became too valuable.

Money and greed. Always the story these days, isn't it? Wonder if there's any other motivator left it the Big Apple. Hello, Herbert Huncke Suite, only $499 a night!