New York City 2600

There is a Save The Hotel rally scheduled for “Black Friday,” November 23. Stay tuned to their news page or this site for updates.

tags: events, hotel pennsylvania, politics

We are excited to annouce that despite various minor setbacks, last night’s Community Board Five hearing was a resounding success for us. The Board’s resolution to designate the Hotel Pennsylvania as a landmark was passed by an overwhelming majority.

Many thanks to all who attended, and all who couldn’t be there but have contributed otherwise to the Save the Hotel movement. The fight is not by any means over, but a major battle has indeed been won.

The proceedings were filmed, and many of us have stories to tell of that night. Stay tuned to SaveTheHotel.org, 2600’s Save the Hotel forum, and this site for updates.

tags: history, hotel pennsylvania, nyc, politics

The previous meeting of the community board was a resounding success for us, as they agreed in a 6-1 vote to bring the matter of the Hotel Pennsylvania before the full board.

Now, to the next stage. The full board meeting of the landmark commission will be held at 6:00 PM this Thursday, November 8th.

Location: F.I.T.
227 West 27th Street at 7th Avenue
Building “C”
Haft Auditorium, 2nd Floor

This is the hearing which will decide whether or not the Hotel Pennsylvania gets landmark status. It is vital that every last person who is able to attends the meeting and speaks their mind. As a wise philosopher once said, “I know some of you like to wait till the last minute… well, this is it! This is the last minute!”

Interested speakers will have to fill out a form and reserve their three minutes of speaking time. Be prepared to say, in three minutes, why you feel this place should become a landmark.

tags: history, hope, hotel pennsylvania, nyc, politics

Early this month, a New York Observer article on the plan to demolish the Hotel Pennsylvania reported that “Preservationists citywide have responded to Vornado’s proposed demolition with a resounding ‘Eh.’”

This apparent local apathy is perhaps best explained in the article’s quote from Emmanuel Goldstein:

“Just recently, I was in Vienna and Pisa [Italy], where people expressed a great deal of concern to me over the fate of the hotel. It was hard (and rather embarrassing) to explain why New Yorkers might not care enough to get involved. The hotel was old; the rooms weren’t as big and luxurious as other more modern facilities; and New Yorkers simply weren’t in a position to grasp the importance of such a place since they normally don’t need cheap and easily accessible hotels if they already live here.”

A new article in the Observer indicates that while Merrill Lynch has “given every indication” that it intends to move to a new skyscraper built upon the site of the Hotel, there is still “a glimmer of hope.”

The Hotel Pennsylvania demolition project requires public approval, which could take a year, and would entail building over the railroad tracks that run beneath the hotel and pose engineering and security challenges.

A committee of the local Community Board 5 meets Tuesday to discuss whether the hotel merits consideration as a protected landmark. The meeting takes place at 6 p.m. on Oct. 30 at 227 West 27th Street, 8th floor, Rm A802.

As Pirho of SaveTheHotel.org noted on the HOPE forums, “if this Hotel does not get the landmarking it deserves, then the fight is over.”

If you want to see this hotel stay, show up and speak at the Community Board 5 Meeting this Tuesday at 6PM.

This could be our last chance to save the Hotel Pennsylvania.

tags: history, hope, hotel pennsylvania, nyc, politics

Take time to swing by Penn Station, look across the street and admire Hotel Pennsylvania as it is today. I think the Hotel Pennsylvania of today is cooler than the plan for the future.

tags: hotel pennsylvania, nyc