Hotel Pennsylvania | The New York Observer

Finally, Checkout Time for Hotel Penn?

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:21:32 -0500

Steve Roth’s Vornado Realty Trust has filed an application with the city to rezone the site of the 90-year-old Hotel Pennsylvania, clearing hurdles for the real estate firm to demolish the hotel and build an office tower of up to 2.85 million square feet in its place.

In paperwork filed with the Department of City Planning, Vornado indicates it wants to rezone the site on 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue to allow...

Post Reconsiders Saving Hotel Penn

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:00:14 -0500

Last November, the Post's Steve Cuozzo railed against the campaign to preserve Hotel Pennsylvania, which he called "one of the gloomiest structures between the Battery and The Bronx."

Now, the paper is listing the old Glenn Miller hangout among its "10 Endangered Buildings Worth Saving" -- No. 2, in fact, just behind Harlem's Corn Exchange Bank.

Built in 1919 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as part of Penn Station's development. Designed by McKim,...

Hotel Penn Still Improbable Cash Cow For Vornado

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:26:33 -0500

One-time demolition target Hotel Pennsylvania continues to line landlord Steve Roth's pockets, giving him even more reason to hang on to the old McKim, Mead & White-designed lodge. Quarterly figures released this week by Mr. Roth's Vornado Realty Trust show the historic hotel generating even more revenue than last year -- a total of nearly $30 million so far through the first nine months of 2008.

That's about $5 million more than it made over...

Win Trip To 'Luxurious' Hotel Pennsylvania!

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:30:59 -0400

MTV is sponsoring a contest to promote the upcoming action film Max Payne starring Mark Wahlberg--and talk about the perfect setting for a gritty cop-movie gimmick! "To celebrate the release of this slick new thriller, MTV is giving one lucky winner and a friend an NYPD trip to New York City. You’ll get flights, two-nights accommodation at the luxurious Hotel...

Wavering Vornado Still Pondering Hotel Penn Takedown

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:19:57 -0400

Vornado Realty Trust isn't hell-bent on demolishing the historic Hotel Pennsylvania, anymore -- but it's putting the paperwork in place, just in case.

Vornado recently applied for a Certification of No Harassment from the city, which, if granted, would by no means guarantee demolition but is apparently a prerequisite for tearing down the semi-grungy hotel across from Penn Station.

Vornado, which owns that site and many others in the area, hasn't made up its mind...

Revamped Algonquin Gives Hotel Penn a Dog Run For Its Money

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:49:32 -0400

The literary landmark Algonquin Hotel hosted a feline fashion show and birthday party on Thursday in honor of Matilda, the famous inn's finicky house cat, now 13.

"I hope we get to see the cat's pajamas," quipped one quick-witted attendee, as guests sipped $20 purr-tinis while cooing at the various costumed kitties in the hotel's famed Round Table Room.

But something was missing. "We can't find Matilda," an organizer confessed.

The resident blue-eyed...

The Penn Is Mightier

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:31:29 -0400

Veteran punk rocker Jello Biafra didn’t trash his hotel room during a recent trip to New York. It was already trashed.

“The air-conditioners are so old and beat up, I figure why waste electrical power during an energy crunch when I can just take off all my clothes and work nude?” quipped Mr. Biafra, the 50-year-old former lead singer of the irreverent Reagan-era rock band the Dead Kennedys and a onetime fringe...

So Long, Cheesy Steve Roth Homage

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:18:59 -0400

Joe O's, the casual sports bar and restaurant in the Hotel Pennsylvania and home to the $13 Vornado pizza -- presumably, an ass-kissing tribute to hotel landlord Steve Roth's ginormous real estate company -- has been shuttered.

Its windows along West 33rd Street have been blacked out, with only a sign hanging from the outside scaffolding to remind passersby of its former presence.

"It's just the big guy pushing out the little guy," remarked a hotel...

Vornado Boss: Hotel Pennsylvania Doing 'Damn Well' As Is

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:57:51 -0400

After months of talk about demolishing the historic Hotel Pennsylvania to make way for a soaring office tower, landlord Vornado Realty Trust has acknowledged that it might just hang on to the McKim, Mead & White-designed, Dave Barry-panned, so-called "World's Most Popular Hotel," after all.

"First off, it is doing damn well as a hotel," Vornado CEO Steven Roth said Tuesday during a conference call with investors.

Indeed, the 1,700-room lodge that Vornado previously described...

Endangered Hotel Penn Nets Nearly $38 M. in '07

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:53:01 -0400

With Merrill Lynch staying put downtown and plans to redevelop Penn Station in flux, Vornado CEO Steven Roth may not know what to do with the Hotel Pennsylvania--a building the company once described as "a placeholder, sort of like a parking lot."

In the meantime, the historic lodge continues to make his company some big bucks--netting roughly $37.9 million last year.

That's $10.6 million more than in 2006, according to the company's latest filing...

Landmarks Commission Snubs Hotel Pennsylvania Again

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:47:22 -0500

Hotel Pennsylvania preservationist Gregory Jones recently received a Valentine's Day greeting from the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission--er, more of a Dear John letter, really.

The message, dated Feb. 14, reads: "At this time, the property does not appear to meet the criteria for designation and will not be recommended to the full commission for further consideration as a New York City landmark."

Yet, Mr. Jones, who has spearheaded efforts to save the old hotel from...

Hotel Pennsylvania, Still Standing, Preps For Doggie Deluge

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:57:15 -0500

Endangered Hotel Pennsylvania is rolling out the wood chips once again for its most highly regarded guests -- the four-legged stars of the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, taking place next week.

Competing canines will be treated to "sound healthy" live piano music in the lobby on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 9, and the hotel's basement conference hall will be converted into "perhaps the largest in-door doggie spa in all of New York"...

Hotel Pennsylvania Partisans Still Sweat Demolition

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:38:36 -0500

"Well, we won a small victory in the battle, but the fight isn't over yet," said Gregory Jones.

The lead organizer of the "Save The Hotel" campaign was reacting to news that financial giant Merrill Lynch will likely stay put in the city's financial district -- and not relocate to the site of his beloved Hotel Pennsylvania.

Mr. Jones told The Observer that activists' fears over the future of the historic hotel now shift from Merrill's...

Merrill Not Moving May Be Bad News for Silverstein, Good News for Brookfield's Rail Yards Bid

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:20:21 -0500

The Wall Street Journal today reports that Merrill Lynch is likely to put off a decision on its headquarters location for at least another five years, as it is seeking a five-year lease renewal with current landlord Brookfield Properties at the World Financial Center downtown.

Such a move comes as good news for Brookfield, and seems to be not so great news for Larry Silverstein, who had hoped to lure the...

Call Glenn Miller To The Stand! History Buffs Request Hearings About Hotel Pennsylvania

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:25:02 -0500

At least one preservation group is speaking up on behalf of the endangered Hotel Pennsylvania.

The Historic Districts Council (HDC) has formally asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to hold a hearing on proposals to protect the old McKim, Mead & White-designed hotel, which owner Vornado Realty Trust has threatened to demolish.

"Much discussion, planning and money have gone into the planning of the revival of the Pennsylvania Station area. It is ironic that the Hotel Pennsylvania,...

'Rebuttal Propaganda?' Post's Cuozzo Slams 'Gloomy' Hotel Pennsylvania

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:42:19 -0500

The New York Post's real-estate ranter Steve Cuozzo today ridicules the campaign to landmark endangered Hotel Pennsylvania, denouncing the old inn as "one of the gloomiest structures between the Battery and The Bronx."

The last-minute drive to save the hotel is flagrant anti-development obstructionism, under the thinnest possible mask of preservationism. It will likely go nowhere. A community board's role is merely advisory, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission has (quite properly) shown no interest...

Hotel Pennsylvania Settles Bedbug Suits for Nearly $100,000

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:12:27 -0500

Vornado-owned Hotel Pennsylvania has agreed to pay nearly $100,000, court records show, to a group of six tourists who claimed to have been bitten by bedbugs while staying at the old Seventh Avenue lodge.

The alleged victims included two Swiss women reportedly "eaten alive" by the nocturnal blood-sucking insects in 2005.

The victims' attorney, Adam Sattler, called the amount of the settlement "satisfactory," adding that the hotel has since taken steps to better prevent the...

Vornado Hires Albany Lobbyist For Hotel Pennsylvania Fight

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:05:03 -0500

As if those nostaglic Glenn Miller-minded preservationists didn't have an uphill battle already!

Vornado Realty Trust has hired Albany-based lobbying firm Patricia Lynch Associates to sway elected officials in favor of the planned demolition and redevelopment of historic Hotel Pennsylvania, state records show, at a pay rate of $7,500 per month.

Vornado reportedly intends to build a $4 billion, 3 million-square-foot office tower on the site, possibly as a new headquarters for Merrill Lynch....

'A Vote of Conscience': CB5 Moves To Protect Hotel Pennsylvania

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 09:36:27 -0500

You knew it was over when several panelists started singing the old familiar melody to Glenn Miller's "Pennsylvania 6-5000."

A resolution to protect the historic Hotel Pennsylvania from demolition is on its way to the Landmarks Preservation Commission after local Community Board 5 voted 21 to 8 on Thursday night to preserve the circa-1919, 1,700-room hotel across from Madison Square Garden.

Member Howard Mendes called it "a vote of conscience." "You might not love every detail,"...

Hackers Launch 'Save The Hotel' Media Blitz: Pamphlets! Public Access TV! MySpace! Maybe Even Cutting Class!

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:35:50 -0500

Activists campaigning to preserve the historic Hotel Pennsylvania have unveiled a slew of new propaganda in anticipation of Thursday's community board meeting on the possibility of landmarking the old inn.

There's a revamped Web site and also some slick new pamphlets, which one guy yesterday heroically distributed outside the hotel under tremendous strain: "My Right Arm from carrying all the bags and holding up the stack of fliers while blabbing is killing me."

There's...

Panel Recommends Preserving Hotel Pennsylvania

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:09:25 -0400

There's hope for the old fleabag yet!

In a surprise 6-to-1 vote last night, the landmarks committee of Manhattan's Community Board 5 voted to recommend designating the historic and endangered Hotel Pennsylvania as an official city landmark.

If approved by the full board next week and later by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, the proposal could save the old 22-story inn from the wrecking ball. Owner Vornado Realty Trust wants to tear it down...

Merrill Move Not Done Deal, Hotel Fate Not Sealed, Expert Says 'Let It Go!'

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:05:32 -0400

Embattled Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal has stepped down, possibly throwing a wrench into the financial giant's almost-done deal to move uptown to Vornado's Hotel Pennsylvania site.

The relocation discussion "is being reopened," according to the Post's Steve Cuozzo, citing a well-placed source: "Not back to square one, but it's no longer the done deal people thought."

Activists hoping to preserve the decrepit-yet-historic McKim, Mead & White-designed hotel reacted to the news with a sigh of...

Preservationists Huddle As Hotel Pennsylvania Inches Closer to Check-Out Time

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:01:02 -0400

Beleaguered financial giant Merrill Lynch has "given every indication" that it intends to move from downtown to a new skyscraper where the historic Hotel Pennsylvania now stands at 401 Seventh Avenue, according to today's Times.

But! Preservationists hoping to save the once glamorous circa-1919 McKim, Mead & White-designed building from the wrecking ball, take heart. There's still a glimmer of hope for the old fleabag.

The Hotel Pennsylvania demolition project requires public approval, which...

Merrill Lynch Still Mulling 'Not Attractive' Hotel Pennsylvania Site

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:17:49 -0400

Both the Times and Post are following up today on financial giant Merrill Lynch's potential interest in moving to the current Hotel Pennsylvania site.

According to the Post's Lois Weiss: "Merrill Lynch execs would prefer to be at Vornado Realty Trust's [hotel site]" as opposed to Larry Silverstein's forthcoming World Trade Center redevelopment.

"What Larry [Silverstein] has decked up financially is not superior to [Vornado's] Hotel Pennsylvania, and it's not big enough," our source...

The Lonely Fight For The Hotel Pennsylvania

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:52:22 -0400

Gregory Jones was welling up. “As of Monday, scaffolding went up around the hotel,” he said, pausing. “I get a little emotional,” he sobbed. “Friends of mine work at this hotel. It means a great deal to me.”

Mr. Jones, a big burly guy with a shaved head, a goatee and a soft spot for antiquated accommodations, was speaking to a panel of elders from the local community board last week about...

Shott On Location: Back At The Hotel Pennsylvania, Pt. 1; Forget Brooklyn-Style Pizza, Try Vornado-Style

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:52:48 -0400

Want to suck up to your landlord? Name a menu item in his honor. Consider the "Vornado," the greasy, chewy, rather sauceless and entirely too cheesy 11-inch, thin-crust personal pizza served up at Joe O's--the hallowed Hotel Pennsylvania's downstairs bar and restaurant, located along West 33rd Street. The entire building, built in 1919, is presently owned by real-estate behemoth Vornado Realty Trust. How has Vornado responded to its $13 tomato, pepperoni and mozzarella memorial? By likening...

The Round-Up: Wednesday

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 03:56:32 -0400

JP Morgan Chase negotiating tower near Ground Zero. [NY Times] Residents, restaurants view Brooklyn jail differently. [NY Times] Manhattan condo conversions switch to commercial. [NY Times] Nonprofits maneuver with real estate. [NY Times] City building-code changes may up construction costs. [NY Sun] Surfer-wear store coming to Herald Square. [NY Post] Merrill Lynch mulling tower in Hotel Penn's place. [2nd item] [NY Post] Toy Building to offer 800,000 feet of office space. [NY Post] City gives tax breaks to undeserving landlords. [NY Post] British...

Doomed Hotel Penn Sends Other Lodges Scrambling for Doggie Style

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:00:00 -0500

To all the snowbound hounds that received a few extra hours of pampering at the all-too-pooch-friendly Hotel Pennsylvania last week: Lap it up, bitches. This year’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was likely your last chance to romp around the wood-chip-covered “Green Room.” Or to leave your own personal mark on the bleach-stained carpets that line the loathsome two-star hotel’s hallways—or, better yet, on hotel flack turned “doggie concierge” Jerry Grymek’s pant leg. The...

Shott On Location (Post-Dog Show Report): Dogs Still Not Gone From Hotel Penn

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:15:00 -0500

Top-ranked purebred boxer Monroe (shown here) sure seemed glum on Thursday. Perhaps it had something to do with not winning "Best of Breed" at this week's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Or maybe it was just being stuck at the icky Hotel Pennsylvania for too many days. Ms. Monroe was one of many precious pooches hanging around the hotel's lobby on Thursday afternoon after the recent snowstorm grounded many dog-show contestants. (The show ended Tuesday night.) One...

The Round-Up: Friday

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:51:32 -0500

A look at new downstate ESDC chair Patrick Foye. [NY Times] Hell's Kitchen neighbors rail against Related site. [NY Times] Whole Foods may move into Upper West Side tower. [NY Post] Equity debt holders rebuff Blackstone offer. [NY Post] New MTA chief Elliot Sander gets to work. [Daily News] Office tower to replace Hotel Pennsylvania. [Daily News] U.S. apartment market ends '06 with high vacancies. [WSJ] East Village landmark may become dorm. [Villager] Did we miss any New York City real estate...

Landmark Hotel Pennsylvania Needs Big Dose of Lysol

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400

As a present for her husband Gary’s 60th birthday, Diane Farnham, of Bath, England, booked a four-night getaway in the heart of Manhattan at the start of the summer tourist season.

Ms. Farnham, 59, chose the historic Hotel Pennsylvania—the showpiece built in 1919 by McKim, Mead and White for the Pennsylvania Railroad, across Seventh Avenue from the firm’s soaring Penn Station. Old Penn Station is just a rueful memory and a cautionary preservation...

Landmark Hotel Pennsylvania Needs Big Dose of Lysol

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400

As a present for her husband Gary’s 60th birthday, Diane Farnham, of Bath, England, booked a four-night getaway in the heart of Manhattan at the start of the summer tourist season. Ms. Farnham, 59, chose the historic Hotel Pennsylvania—the showpiece built in 1919 by McKim, Mead and White for the Pennsylvania Railroad, across Seventh Avenue from the firm’s soaring Penn Station. Old Penn Station is just a rueful memory and a cautionary preservation fable,...

A StaXXX Session

Sun, 26 Nov 2000 19:00:00 -0500

George Cederquist, a senior at Yale, was sipping a beer in a booth at Yorkside Pizza, an establishment near the school's New Haven campus. He looked mighty pleased with himself.

"We've taken metropolitan newspapers for the wildest ride," he gloated. "What could be better than screwing around with the national media?" Mr. Cederquist, an elfish red-headed theater-studies major, had come to the pizza parlor at this reporter's request to discuss the activities of a...