New York City's famed Gramercy Park Hotel, an impromptu home for both rock stars and intellectuals, could be forced to shut its doors for good with real estate tycoon Aby Rosen failing to pay nearly $80 million in late lease fees.
The Gramercy Hotel closed its door to the public in 2020 as New Yorkers fled the city and the hotel industry grappled with unprecedented uncertainty.
But even after many businesses made a comeback during the summer, the Gramercy remains shuttered and its future uncertain.
The hotel sits on land which is owned by Landlord Solil Management, and Rosen's company RFR Realty holds the lease to run a 'first-class' hotel until at least 2078. Under the terms of the lease, Rosen's company is liable to pay around $5 million in annual lease fees. However, since November 2020 when the hotel closed as a result of the pandemic, RFR has failed to make a $900,000 payment and Solil sought to have it evicted from the property in December, and even went so far as to stick an eviction notice on its iconic doors.
Although a state Supreme Court justice ruled that Rosen - and his RFR Realty - isn't personally liable for the ground lease, his other real estate company, GPH Ground Tenant LLC, could potentially still be ordered to make the payment. Solil claims in the lawsuit that Rosen and his company owe $79.5 million from the contract deal.
As a result, the New York landmark could soon become one of those things the pandemic forever ruined for the city, and the rooms that once housed the Rolling Stones, Bono, Bob Dylan and David Bowie and the walls that witnessed gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's crazed drug orgies might not come back to the public.
Although the pandemic might've been the catalyst for the hotel's demise, Landlord Solil Management claimed in court the hotel was 'unkempt' because of poor management from Rosen's RFR.
The elevators need to be fixed and the HVAC equipment is 'patched with duct tape,' while the facade requires city-ordered work, and the mechanical systems are in bad condition, according to court papers obtained by the New York Post.
'Rosen has chosen not to operate the Gramercy Park Hotel and has kept it closed to paying guests,' alleged the papers.
Rosen reportedly had his mother and other employees stay at the hotel while it was closed to the public, which goes against terms of the lease that states that it needs to be operated as a 'first class hotel' to paying guests.
The Gramercy Park Hotel rooms that once housed the Rolling Stones, Bono, Bob Dylan and David Bowie and the walls that witnessed gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's crazed drug orgies might not come back to the public
The Gramercy was an impromptu home for both rock stars and intellectuals, but it might have its days counted due to 'philistine' owner Aby Rosen's negative to pay nearly $80 million in late lease fees. Above, David Bowie at a party in the Gramercy
The origins of the 18-story Renaissance Revival Hotel can be traced to one of 66 swampy lots parceled out in the 1830s to draw potential residents 'uptown'
Big-name musicians began passing through the lobby or staying for months at a time, giving the New York Hotel its rock and roll edge
Aby Rosen, who has a reputation for ruining landmark hotels and disregarding their history, is also the owner of the Seagram Building, where he disposed of a Picasso mural that is now on exhibition New York Historical Society. Above, Rosen (left) with Nicky Hilton (right)
Rosen is also the owner of the Seagram Building, where he disposed of a Picasso mural that is now on exhibition at the New York Historical Society. His company owns more than 90 properties valued at over $15.5 billion across the world.
In the nearly 100 years of the Gramercy's history, the flamboyant hotel has been home to scholars such as 'hero of American consciousness' Timothy Leary and an 11-year-old, future president John F Kennedy.
But it has also housed the upper Manhattan class and groupies who would visit rock stars, and everything in between in its now 190 guests rooms.
Ben Hartley, executive director of the National Arts Club, located across the hotel, told The New York Post that the loss in culture value would be huge if the Gramercy were to close its doors forever.
'The Gramercy Park Hotel was a great resource and it's a shame that it's no longer open,' Hartley told the outlet. 'The hotel was really known as a creative space.'
A Manhattan art collector, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the Post that Rosen was 'a philistine' for not going the extra mile and fighting for the hotel to remain operating.
'He takes landmarks and he ruins them. He takes the soul of marquee buildings,' the art collector said.
In the sixties, the Rolling Stones resided there after their first American tour, and Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Clash and Bob Marley were all known to spend time
