In our continuing coverage of Simon Hammerstein’s new Lower East Side rich-people-pretending-to-be-bohemian playground, the Box, we’ve remembered a conversation we had with Hammerstein last week at that Queen Mary 2 party, in which he once again describes a venue that seems almost nothing like its reality:
New York: Everyone’s talking about the Box. How are you handling the hype?
Hammerstein: One day at a time. It’s too early to smell the roses. We’re trying to transform the space every season. The feedback has been remarkable, but that doesn’t mean my job is over. It’s a full-time job.
New York: How do you cultivate a fun, engaging place to be without alienating everybody?
Hammerstein: It’s a job unto itself. For me the quintessential night in New York is a diverse, mixed room: freaks to conservatives. As long as we appreciate all walks of life and we’re open to that. People are people.
New York: Ever been disallowed entrance into a club yourself?
Hammerstein: Oh, God, everyone has. I remember being drunk at Marquee and my own friend wouldn’t let me in because he said I was too drunk. I threw my driver’s license at him and reminded him who I was. Embarrassing.
In so many ways.
Earlier:
Boxed Out
‘Radar’ Throws a Party, and We Discover We Are Not Cool Enough to Buy Drinks
Related: Britannica Ball [Interactive Party Lines]
