Last week, we posted this snapshot of the Hotel Riverview and talked about our excitement for the place to open. Afterall, we loved Eric Goode and Sean Macpherson's last hotel redo, The Bowery.
But after this email from a trusted tipster, we've decided to keep our enthusiasm in check.
It will be a 200+ room, cheap love hotel. Small, small rooms. No suites.
Work is going ahead. Nothing stops these guys.
A cheap love hotel? That's just a waste of a building then. Why even go about renovating the place and kicking out tenants if you are just going to have small cheap rooms. Maybe if the place had a Hello Kitty room, we could get excited about it again. Otherwise, boooo.
We snapped this shot of the Hotel Riverview from the West Side Highway yesterday during a beautiful, humid-free, warm but not sticky hot day in Manhattan.
We have no idea what's going on with the renovations/kicking out the tenants. Last we heard there was a stop work order but the hotel was still going ahead with rewiring plans. Still, we're getting a little excited for this hotel from hoteliers Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson to open, if it ever does.
Why? It's got prime real estate on the West Side Highway with river views (heh) and is just a short walk for guests who want to stroll outside like we did on a happy late spring day.
Oh Hotel Riverview. You're a never-ending maze of paperwork and Potemkin villages set up to keep us from figuring out what's going on. Sad thing is, so far it's sorta working.
Here's what we do know: The stop work order is still in place on Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson's property, as it has been since January 8. But the Department of Buildings has also issued a work permit for "Demolition of interior partitions and the installation of new partitions," good until January 21, 2009.
Weird, right? The other thing we know is that Hotel Associates is starting to slink out of the picture. Department of Finance records show they transferred the deed over to Jane St. Hospitality on January 10, so that's now the shadowy organization to watch.
Hotel Riverview residents and its past guests are strongly against the Goode/MacPherson takeover. No surprise here, although if you didn't know it yet, G & M are probably working with BD Hotels--they of the embittered Hotel Chelsea takeover.
The comments and emails about the historic hotel's transition to a hip West Village boutique hotel are filling up our inboxes and burning up our comments feed, particularly under this story about the pending eviction of tenants.
This group is also protesting the notion that the hotel is full of drunks, drug addicts or homeless people--as suggested by the tipster who told us that Goode and MacPherson had officially purchased the hotel. Here's one guest's response to that characterization.
I have served five years in the US Army, Attended the University of Hawaii and traveled through eight countries. I was, am not and will never be any of those adjective you used so gallantly.
You need to be taught some respect for people's transitions as we all have human experiences. I wish Messrs. Macpherson and Goode all the best on their new project. As for you and your tipster, try another angle, b/c this one is tacky.
Needless to say there's a lot of strong emotions about this pending hotel project and we can't post every email so we urge you to...
Mcpherson was standing out on the sidewalk talking to some of his assistants before the deal was final he said and I quote "It won't be difficult. It will be political but it won't be difficult." I was standing right behind him when he said this.
Yikes, this transformation into hip boutique won't be pretty. Then again, is it ever? · Similarly, our first-hand review of the NYLO Plano Hotel is burning up the comment feed. · Hotel Maven Cricri spent a night at Six Columbus. Room cost? $150. Booking method? Quikbook. Infamous Thompson Service? "The concierge Brian is so nice." · JetSetCD is perturbed by the wasted space in the planned "donut" hotel in Dubai.
Now that hoteliers Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson have purchased the old Hotel Riverview on Jane Street in NYC, the transformation to hip boutique hotel (aka eviction process of long-term "guests" has begun.) But there's a ray of hope for current hotel staffers. Their jobs may be safe. A downtown source emailed us to say:
As of yesterday Wednesday 1/9/08, attorneys for Eric Goode & Sean MacPherson have signed the final documents and final payment for the Riverview Hotel. The hotel is officially their property as of Monday 1/14/08. My sources have told me that they will be keeping some of the staff. (I believe they will have to train a lot of them in proper customer service etiquette, front desk, answering phones properly, etc., etc. They are very rough around the edges if you get my drift.)
With the confirmation that hoteliers Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson have purchased the old Hotel Riverview with hopes of turning it into a boutique hotel, let's take a moment to reflect that not everyone is crazy about a shiny new hotel in the West Village.
Brian Mercer who tipped us off that the hotel was full for "Janis Joplin" has some warnings for Goode and MacPherson, indeed for all hoteliers in NYC who dare to charge $300 a night.
I am so sad this place is going and I WANT TO KNOW WHO IS GOING TO STOP THIS SINCE IT IS A LANDMARK HOTEL AND HISTORICALLY PROTECTED.
Yeah, the all caps is his not ours. As you can see he's pissed. And he believes that if Manhattan keeps raising its hotel prices then travelers might stay away for good. So who shall win this war--An actor or a team of men who have successfully established hotels and restaurants across the city? Our bet is that Mercer will put up a fight. Hmm...Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.
·Chip Conley: Housekeepers at the Carlton Hotel in San Francisco love the new vacuum cleaners they get every year. In fact, employee satisfaction ratings took off since Conley's JDV Hospitality firm took over.
· Jason Pomeranc: With Thompson Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Roosevelt out on the West Coast, Jason Pomeranc has purchased a home in the Hollywood Hills that was once owned by Bobby Darin. But its not a singing career we think Pomeranc is after. We think once he's done with hotels (or is he already?) he will get into film. It's the Hollywood Way!
· Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson: Regarding the Hotel Riverview the duo appeared before the community board. Some plans for the hotel include restoring its original look, including re-building an octagonal cupola on the roof. Some more good news, apparently a liquor license is expected to be approved.
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by juliana
· The story we did about the 
