PHOTOS BY BEN FRACTENBERG/THE CITY The renovations inside the Chelsea Hotel
Civil war for Chelsea Hotel as tenants split
over city bid to halt upscale conversion
BY GABRIEL SANDOVAL
THE CITY
As the owners of the
legendary Chelsea Hotel
fi ght the city’s housing
agency for the right to convert
the landmark into condominiums
and high-end rooms, long-time
residents are at odds with one
another over their home’s fate.
Three pending lawsuits fi led by
residents on higher fl oors — the
most recent in state Supreme
Court on Sept. 26 — allege that
owner Ira Drukier and partners
have made rent-stabilized tenants
miserable in hopes that they would
move out of the Manhattan icon.
The latest suit, lodged by
10th-fl oor residents Susan and
Jonathan Berg, accuses the owners
of “an escalating campaign of
deliberate, systematic and malicious
harassment” with ongoing
building renovations dragging on
for years.
Yet downstairs neighbors say
they are eager to see the upscale
conversion reach completion
— and resent the city Department
of Housing Preservation
and Development for thwarting
the work. “I want to live in a nice
place,” said longtime resident Ellen
Garretson.
Verbal Abuse Alleged
The Bergs are the second couple
since September to sue the owners
of the West 23rd Street hotel.
“It’s important that when
people are treated the way that
we’ve been treated that it’s known
by the public,” said Susan Berg,
64, who’s resided in the hotel
since 1988.
The Bergs’ lawsuit alleges
that the owners ignored basic
maintenance requests, including
cleaning dust from construction
and fi xing a leaky ceiling, which
led to fl ooding in the hallways of
the 10th fl oor. Their heat, water,
electricity and other essential
services have been disrupted or
Chelsea Hotel tenant association leader Zoe Pappas blames
HPD for renovation delays.
discontinued at times, the suit
charges.
The suit also claims that Drukier
verbally abused the Bergs.
In one instance in August 2019,
Jonathan Berg accompanied HPD
inspectors to go to the hotel’s roof
to view a defective drain, which
caused the leak on their fl oor.
When Drukier appeared, the
lawsuit alleges, he screamed at
Berg, “I own the building, so go
f—k yourself!”
A month later, Susan Berg was
in the hotel’s lobby and speaking
to the building’s manager, when
Drukier approached and yelled at
her, “Blah! blah! blah!” and “F—k
you!” legal papers allege. That
prompted the manager to step in
between them and warn Drukier
to stop, the suit says.
The Bergs are seeking damages
and attorneys’ fees. “It’s just been
years of tenants being harassed
and really culminating in the last
three-plus years,” Susan Berg told
THE CITY.
Construction Halted
Artist Philip Taaffe and his
wife, Gretchen Carlson, also
sued the hotel owners last month,
claiming their family of fi ve was
forced to leave after their water
and electricity was shut off for
two years during renovations,
the New York Post reported. Another
resident, Rita Barros, sued
in December, alleging similarly
poor living conditions.
All share the same attorney,
Leon Behar. Court records shows
a fourth suit was dismissed, but
Behar is appealing the ruling.
“This should not be put up
within the city of New York,”
Behar told THE CITY. “It’s a
systemic pattern of harassment
in order for my clients to vacate.”
The owners, who bought the
famously shabby building in
2016, have vehemently denied the
harassment allegations. They said
they have strived to accommodate
tenants during renovations that
have been slowed by multiple city
Department of Building stop-work
orders, including one partially
halting construction currently.
“The construction is not meant
to make the tenants leave,” Drukier
said in a statement to THE
CITY, which noted a 35% rent
abatement “to compensate for the
inconvenience of construction.”
He added: “The goal is to
renovate this landmark building,
as soon as possible for everyone’s
benefi t, including the tenants.”
The lawsuits come after an
investigation by the city Department
of Housing Preservation
and Development, following the
owners’ 2019 application for a
certifi cate, that concluded tenant
harassment occurred.
HPD’s fi nding led to an administrative
hearing in a Manhattan
court — which began in-person
in March and resumed in a virtual
courtroom last month — to determine
whether the owner’s application
for a Certifi cate of No Harassment
will be approved despite the
housing agency’s rejection.
At the March hearing, city offi
cials described conditions that
included a leaky ceiling, exposed
electrical wires and lead-infused
paint dust. The Offi ce of Administrative
Trials and Hearings case
resumes virtually on Friday.
An HPD representative said
that shielding tenants from harassment
is its job.
“Protecting New York City
tenants against harassment is a
critical responsibility of HPD. As
in this case, when the agency fi nds
reasonable cause that harassment
occurred, we take action,” Jeremy
House, a spokesperson for HPD,
said in a statement.
This story was fi rst published
on Oct. 1, 2020, by THE CITY,
an independent, nonprofi t news
outlet dedicated to hard-hitting
reporting that serves the people
of New York.
4 Oct. 8, 2020 Schneps Media