Showing posts with label the richies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the richies. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

[EVG Flashback] Residents discuss the problems created by the Cooper Square Hotel: Meanwhile, across the street, a party for a sports car

Originally posted on June 3, 2009...

Last night, nearly 50 residents convened at the JASA/Green Residence to discuss concerns the impact that the Cooper Square Hotel has had on the neighborhood. (Jeremiah has been on the story with his must-read Notes from the Backside series.)



The event was organized by the East Fifth Street Block Association. Matthew Moss, principal of the Peck Moss Hotel Group, the developer of the $115 million Cooper Square Hotel, was there to field questions from the audience. Stuart Zamsky, head of the East Fifth Street Block Association, ran the meeting along with Carrie Schneider, whose apartment is a few feet away from the Cooper Square Hotel's much-discussed second-level bar area. CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer was in attendance as was a representative from the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. (I was a few minutes late, and missed all the introductions.)



The meeting started cordially enough. There was talk about the smoke coming from the fireplace in the ground-floor library. "We will not use the fireplace until we figure out this smoke issue," Moss said. That was easy. Next!

Then the discussion turned to the contentious second-floor outdoor patio (there is no actual bar outside — guests can drink in the space, though). Although the patio officially closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, 10 p.m. on Thursday and 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday [UPDATE: These hours are incorrect — see the comments for the hours of operation], residents have said there are disturbed at all hours. For instance, guests have been able to access the area after hours and hotel employees have used the space as a breakroom to smoke and make cell-phone calls. Moss said that until the hotel can install a permanent gate at the landing of the main stairs leading to the terrace, a security guard has been hired to stand duty to prevent off-hour access. The presence of a security guard has helped curb some unwanted chatter, people thought.

Soon enough, though, things started to change. Maybe it was the increasingly warm community room in need of a breeze, the water fountain in the back that occasionally made a clanging noise...or maybe people were just tired of Moss mumbling. Every few sentences, people had to ask for him to speak up. It didn't help that Moss, an awkward public speaker, acted at times like a fraternity brother being scolded by his housemother for not picking up his dirty clothes.

"It sucks for the people who are here," Zamsky said of all the problems the hotel has created for residents. "It's not good."

Moss, who was prone to squirming, tugging at his lip and — a few times — rolling his eyes, said at one point, "There's nothing else for me to say. The responsibility lies with me... Anything I say is going to sound like an excuse."



Fifth Street residents talked about the lack of parking spaces now available to them and the limos that line up in the evenings. One woman in a wheelchair said their families can't find a place to park when they come to town for a visit. "You have nothing but excuses! You have created another problem for us."

Said Moss, "I don't doubt for a second that the hotel has some negative impact on the community. I'm also of the belief that there is some good that comes from" our presence. He didn't offer what that was.

Moss also said that the hotel has offered to pay to soundproof the windows for residents at 207 Fifth St. who are adjacent to the hotel and have suffered the most since the patio opened last month. "That's not a perfect solution," he admitted.

A representative from Scott Stringer's office, who arrived late, confirmed that Moss met with Stringer yesterday morning and put it in writing that the hotel is willing to pay to soundproof windows. [CORRECTION: The representative from Scott Stringer's office, Greg Kirschenbaum, did not indicate that Borough President Stringer met with Moss: he stated that Moss had reached out to him to offer the soundproofing and that Moss then provided that offer in writing. Stringer did not meet with Moss. We apologize for the error in reporting.] One problem, though: The landlord of 207 Fifth St. is not receptive to such an idea.

One resident said soundproofing windows just wasn't good enough. "You have a public space out there. There are public spaces such as libraries where even homeless people that hang out know you have to be quiet." He mentioned that management should tell the hotel guests to whisper while they're on the patio. Continued the resident, "The other thing about soundproof windows: You're suggesting that the people who live there will never want to open their windows."

The residents had more to say.



Moss looked as if he wanted to shrink inside his blue blazer. He was unprepared. He had no noticeable personality. He lacked the diplomatic skills necessary for the hospitality industry — or any industry. He had no answers to questions about the noise complaints and other quality-of-life issues raised during the meeting. "I don't know...We need to figure out how to make it work," he said. He wouldn't offer a timetable for possible solutions to the noise. "I don't even know what the solutions are going to be."

Someone mentioned the tactics used by residents to retaliate against the noise. "I don't think it's really relevant," Moss snapped. Another resident asked about the secret nightclub that was going to open in the Cooper Square Hotel. "It's not going to be a nightclub," Moss said. He called it a "supper club," which will be in the basement. "I'd be surprised if it happened this year," he said.

At this point, you get the idea. To be honest, so much was discussed during the 75-plus minutes that I was at the meeting. I didn't capture every complaint, every name, every possible solution from calling 311 to the hotel manager on duty. But I had a good snapshot of what has been happening to the residents living adjacent to the hotel. So I left.



I started thinking about the hardships that I heard that night. The woman in the wheelchair whose family can't find a place to park to visit her. The residents being kept up by the party-going hotel guests. I thought about the older man who cared enough to show up at the meeting with a sign of protest against the hotel. Later, he fell asleep in the back of the room near an open door.

So I walked out of the JASA/Green Residence, which faces the south side of the Cooper Square Hotel. And what was there waiting for all the concerned residents exiting the meeting?



An invitation-only party thrown by the 100 Thousand Club and Aston Martin to unveil the DBS Volante Convertible.

Just to spell this out for myself. The co-owner of the Cooper Square Hotel agreed to meet with concerned local residents about noise complaints and quality-of-life issues on the same night that his hotel was throwing a party for a $280,000 sports car.

The crowd was tan and fit. They all looked so happy with drinks in hand. (Jeremiah also witnessed the party: He has much more on the scene.)





Guests took turns sitting inside the car for photo opps.



A few of the residents who attended the meeting stood on the sidewalk by the Cooper's outdoor patio with incredulous looks on their faces. One man ran back inside to ask Moss if he was aware there were 200 people partying behind the hotel.



I saw three different people leave the patio and enter the sidewalk with drinks. The security on duty only seemed concerned with the non-guests gawking on the sidewalk. One guest walked east a few buildings on Fifth Street. He hiked his khaki-clad leg up on a railing while holding a bottle of Stella and talking on his cell phone. Meanwhile, chauffeured town cars double-parked on Fifth Street. Other cars idled in front of fire hydrants.



One driver shrugged off the threats of a resident who asked him to move. He continued talking on his cell phone.



By the way, the only time Moss ever offered an apology last night occured after he was asked to speak up so the people in the back of the room could hear him.

For further reading:
Raging Against the Coop: the Developer/Neighbor Faceoff (Eater)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Cooper Square Hotel finishes building fence that looks just as out of place as the hotel

As I noted yesterday, workers were fencing in the garden spot along East Fifth Street outside the Cooper Square Hotel... How many Popsicle sticks were used to make this?




However, as you can see, the Coopsters left a slot in the Popsicle sticks for any fancy car parties they may have this summer...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Residents discuss the problems created by the Cooper Square Hotel: Meanwhile, across the street, a party for a sports car

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Noted


From a CNN/Money article titled Botox to vacations: Where bankers spend their bonuses.... As they note: After last year's dry spell, bonuses for top-level executives are expected to be sky high. Maybe even records." So what are they spending their money on?

Of course, the first status residence is in Manhattan, and bankers are already starting to check out the goods in advance of their windfall. They're putting up huge down payments, which has helped the $3 million to $5 million sector of the city's housing market to rebound, said Pamela Liebman, CEO of New York-based brokerage firm Corcoran.

At the low end, they can score a three-bedroom, two bath condo right on Central Park or a tony address on Fifth Avenue. The more adventurous poet-at-heart bankers can tap out buying a five-story Queen Anne on the Upper West Side or head to the once-bohemian East Village for two joined buildings that boast an owner's triplex with a stunning terrace -- and income-generating apartments and businesses below.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Claim: Tuesday night's DBS Volante Convertible party at the Cooper Square Hotel "brought enough complaints to bring in the police"

Just a quick follow-up to yesterday's Cooper Square Hotel post. I wanted to highlight two comments that came in later last night.



Anonymous said...
Just for the record, one of the stipulations of the hotel liquor license is, that given its proximity to to an assisted living facility and residential apartment building, the garden is to be "a quiet gathering place for patrons and guests." Last night's event brought enough complaints to bring in the police. When residents went to inquire for the hotel manager as recommended by Matt Moss at the meeting, she was "unavailable."


Goggla said...
I hate to think what will happen the next time one of those senior residents needs an ambulance (which I see there regularly), only to have it circle the block because the wagon train of limos is blocking the entrance.

Also, I reviewed the photos that I took.... I found these. As I recall, the young man in the backpack wanted to take a closer look at the Aston Martin on display. And why not?



So he looked around for a moment and decided to unhook the velvet rope and go in where the invite-onlys were congregating.



The security guard was on him in a second. The guard was ready to push him out the way he came in...



But the other security guard interjected and suggested that the young man be taken out properly through the hotel.



The security guards that I saw were much more tolerant of guests taking drinks onto the sidewalk to use their cell phones.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Residents discuss the problems created by the Cooper Square Hotel: Meanwhile, across the street, a party for a sports car

Last night, nearly 50 residents convened at the JASA/Green Residence to discuss concerns the impact that the Cooper Square Hotel has had on the neighborhood. (Jeremiah has been on the story with his must-read Notes from the Backside series.)



The event was organized by the East Fifth Street Block Association. Matthew Moss, principal of the Peck Moss Hotel Group, the developer of the $115 million Cooper Square Hotel, was there to field questions from the audience. Stuart Zamsky, head of the East Fifth Street Block Association, ran the meeting along with Carrie Schneider, whose apartment is a few feet away from the Cooper Square Hotel's much-discussed second-level bar area. CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer was in attendance as was a representative from the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. (I was a few minutes late, and missed all the introductions.)



The meeting started cordially enough. There was talk about the smoke coming from the fireplace in the ground-floor library. "We will not use the fireplace until we figure out this smoke issue," Moss said. That was easy. Next!

Then the discussion turned to the contentious second-floor outdoor patio (there is no actual bar outside — guests can drink in the space, though). Although the patio officially closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, 10 p.m. on Thursday and 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday [UPDATE: These hours are incorrect — see the comments for the hours of operation], residents have said there are disturbed at all hours. For instance, guests have been able to access the area after hours and hotel employees have used the space as a breakroom to smoke and make cell-phone calls. Moss said that until the hotel can install a permanent gate at the landing of the main stairs leading to the terrace, a security guard has been hired to stand duty to prevent off-hour access. The presence of a security guard has helped curb some unwanted chatter, people thought.

Soon enough, though, things started to change. Maybe it was the increasingly warm community room in need of a breeze, the water fountain in the back that occasionally made a clanging noise...or maybe people were just tired of Moss mumbling. Every few sentences, people had to ask for him to speak up. It didn't help that Moss, an awkward public speaker, acted at times like a fraternity brother being scolded by his housemother for not picking up his dirty clothes.

"It sucks for the people who are here," Zamsky said of all the problems the hotel has created for residents. "It's not good."

Moss, who was prone to squirming, tugging at his lip and — a few times — rolling his eyes, said at one point, "There's nothing else for me to say. The responsibility lies with me... Anything I say is going to sound like an excuse."



Fifth Street residents talked about the lack of parking spaces now available to them and the limos that line up in the evenings. One woman in a wheelchair said their families can't find a place to park when they come to town for a visit. "You have nothing but excuses! You have created another problem for us."

Said Moss, "I don't doubt for a second that the hotel has some negative impact on the community. I'm also of the belief that there is some good that comes from" our presence. He didn't offer what that was.

Moss also said that the hotel has offered to pay to soundproof the windows for residents at 207 Fifth St. who are adjacent to the hotel and have suffered the most since the patio opened last month. "That's not a perfect solution," he admitted.

A representative from Scott Stringer's office, who arrived late, confirmed that Moss met with Stringer yesterday morning and put it in writing that the hotel is willing to pay to soundproof windows. [CORRECTION: The representative from Scott Stringer's office, Greg Kirschenbaum, did not indicate that Borough President Stringer met with Moss: he stated that Moss had reached out to him to offer the soundproofing and that Moss then provided that offer in writing. Stringer did not meet with Moss. We apologize for the error in reporting.] One problem, though: The landlord of 207 Fifth St. is not receptive to such an idea.

One resident said soundproofing windows just wasn't good enough. "You have a public space out there. There are public spaces such as libraries where even homeless people that hang out know you have to be quiet." He mentioned that management should tell the hotel guests to whisper while they're on the patio. Continued the resident, "The other thing about soundproof windows: You're suggesting that the people who live there will never want to open their windows."

The residents had more to say.



Moss looked as if he wanted to shrink inside his blue blazer. He was unprepared. He had no noticeable personality. He lacked the diplomatic skills necessary for the hospitality industry — or any industry. He had no answers to questions about the noise complaints and other quality-of-life issues raised during the meeting. "I don't know...We need to figure out how to make it work," he said. He wouldn't offer a timetable for possible solutions to the noise. "I don't even know what the solutions are going to be."

Someone mentioned the tactics used by residents to retaliate against the noise. "I don't think it's really relevant," Moss snapped. Another resident asked about the secret nightclub that was going to open in the Cooper Square Hotel. "It's not going to be a nightclub," Moss said. He called it a "supper club," which will be in the basement. "I'd be surprised if it happened this year," he said.

At this point, you get the idea. To be honest, so much was discussed during the 75-plus minutes that I was at the meeting. I didn't capture every complaint, every name, every possible solution from calling 311 to the hotel manager on duty. But I had a good snapshot of what has been happening to the residents living adjacent to the hotel. So I left.



I started thinking about the hardships that I heard that night. The woman in the wheelchair whose family can't find a place to park to visit her. The residents being kept up by the party-going hotel guests. I thought about the older man who cared enough to show up at the meeting with a sign of protest against the hotel. Later, he fell asleep in the back of the room near an open door.

So I walked out of the JASA/Green Residence, which faces the south side of the Cooper Square Hotel. And what was there waiting for all the concerned residents exiting the meeting?



An invitation-only party thrown by the 100 Thousand Club and Aston Martin to unveil the DBS Volante Convertible.

Just to spell this out for myself. The co-owner of the Cooper Square Hotel agreed to meet with concerned local residents about noise complaints and quality-of-life issues on the same night that his hotel was throwing a party for a $280,000 sports car.

The crowd was tan and fit. They all looked so happy with drinks in hand. (Jeremiah also witnessed the party: He has much more on the scene.)





Guests took turns sitting inside the car for photo opps.



A few of the residents who attended the meeting stood on the sidewalk by the Cooper's outdoor patio with incredulous looks on their faces. One man ran back inside to ask Moss if he was aware there were 200 people partying behind the hotel.



I saw three different people leave the patio and enter the sidewalk with drinks. The security on duty only seemed concerned with the non-guests gawking on the sidewalk. One guest walked east a few buildings on Fifth Street. He hiked his khaki-clad leg up on a railing while holding a bottle of Stella and talking on his cell phone. Meanwhile, chauffeured town cars double-parked on Fifth Street. Other cars idled in front of fire hydrants.



One driver shrugged off the threats of a resident who asked him to move. He continued talking on his cell phone.



By the way, the only time Moss ever offered an apology last night occured after he was asked to speak up so the people in the back of the room could hear him.

For further reading:
Raging Against the Coop: the Developer/Neighbor Faceoff (Eater)

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Noted

"Despite a commanding lead in the polls, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has already spent $18.7 million on his re-election campaign, nearly twice as much as he had spent at this point in the 2005 race." (The New York Times)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Noted


From Page Six:

"THE class structure is alive and well in New York Major League Baseball. Both new stadiums have VIP areas where owners of the highest priced seats won't have to chafe elbows with the unwashed masses. The high rollers have their own entrances, their own bars, concession stands and restrooms that are off-limits to fans in the cheaper seats. At the Mets' home opener at glorious Citi Field Monday night, among those who took advantage of the exclusive Delta 360 Club were Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Paterson, top cop Ray Kelly, Donald and Melania Trump, Drew Nieporent (who has a Nobu over left field), pharma billionaire Stewart Rahr, taxi banker Andrew Murstein, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was sharing the home-cooked chicken he brought."

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Bloomy is now wealthiest resident of NYC


Last year, the media mogul's worth clocked in at $11.5 billion. But after he bought back 20 percent of his company Bloomberg LP from a foundering Merrill Lynch in July, his value skyrocketed and he is now worth a staggering $16 billion.

Related!
The number of American millionaires fell by more than a quarter last year, as the financial crisis decimated their investments across the board, a report said yesterday. (New York Post)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The recession reaches Madison Avenue


Last Nov. 6, I did a post after walking on Madison Avenue in the 70s and 60s where all the really nice shops are.

Flashback!

And you know we didn't see one person shopping in any of these stores. Seriously. Post-election hangover perhaps? Or maybe the richies just don't shop in a light rain on weekday afternoons? Or maybe the economy is really fucked. Anyway, every store was the same: A handful of well-dressed employees standing around looking expectantly out the store windows.


So I wasn't surprised to read this in the Times today:

New York’s most elegant shopping corridor, the Gold Coast of Madison Avenue, from 57th Street to 72nd Street, is pockmarked with vacancies as retailers flee sky-high rents. More than two dozen retail spaces are on the market and are either empty now or about to be. Windows that once showcased hand-tooled leather suitcases are now plastered with for-rent signs.

This is as bad as I’ve ever seen it,” said Alan Victor, a broker who has worked the street for more than four decades and who is an executive vice president of the Lansco Corporation.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Noted


From a Page Six Magazine article titled "Private Clubs: Hideouts of the Rich and Shameless:"

The Core Club's membership model has all the over-the-top lavishness of a bygone Sex and the City era —- the annual dues only give you access to pay jacked-up prices on everything else. After all, lunch entrées like the club's pan-roasted Loup de mer (sea bass) cost $38. But today, many members say the thrill of belonging to a hermetically sealed bunker in Midtown is more appealing than ever.

"Every time I walk into the club for lunch, I say, 'No recession here,' " says Fred Davis, one of the founding members of the Core Club and a senior partner at the law firm Davis, Shapiro, Lewit & Hayes.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Walking on Madison

For some reason late yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Grieve and I found ourselves walking on that really faboo stretch of Madison Avenue in the 70s and 60s. And all those designer places -- Armani, Jil Sander, Dolce & Gabbana, et al. And you know we didn't see one person shopping in any of these stores. Seriously. Post-election hangover perhaps? Or maybe the richies just don't shop in a light rain on weekday afternoons? Or maybe the economy is really fucked. Anyway, every store was the same: A handful of well-dressed employees standing around looking expectantly out the store windows.




Friday, September 26, 2008

Noted


Since last Thursday, there have been 200 price cuts on properties listed at less than $10 million on Manhattan's Upper East Side or Upper West Side -- a 17% jump from the week before. Deanna Kory, a broker with New York-based Corcoran Group who's handling nearly two-dozen properties priced between $2 million and $10 million, says her showings are down by about 40% in the last two weeks compared to the same time last year. A slew of new buildings set to open in the next year will only increase supply. (Wall Street Journal)