The Royalton: New Pillows and a Poison Pill?
Onetime epicenter of cool, the Royalton Hotel, reopens next week after a sweeping redesign aimed at recapturing the film, fashion, and media elite who once swelled its halls. The relaunch has been plagued with misfortune so far, including the resignation of Morgans Hotel group CEO Ed Sheetz after the death of his girlfriend. The week Sheetz resigned, a Morgan Stanley analyst wrote to clients noting that it was difficult to advise they put “fresh money” into Morgans, which also runs New York’s Morgans and Hudson Hotels, Miami’s famed Delano, and L.A.’s Mondrian, given the economy and debt related to construction of new Vegas properties. Now, the latest news is that Morgans took the unusual step last week of adopting a “poison pill” stock structure that shields the company, largely credited with inventing the chic boutique hotel concept, against a hostile takeover.
party lines
Jack and Suzy Welch Envy Each Other
Last night moguls and media types gathered to celebrate the revamp of Business Week. Henry Kissinger, Dylan Lauren, Atoosa Rubenstein, and Alexis Stewart (Martha’s daughter) all rallied at Guastavino’s to toast editor-in-chief Stephen Adler. Michael Eisner praised the redesign and then got down to business with us about — what else? — the Fox Business Network.”When you have Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes doing a project, you can’t discount it,” he told us. “So I suspect it will be competitive and successful.” Eisner reminded us that he has his own show on CNBC, a network he thinks is “pretty entrenched and well done.” “I think it will be a long time before they’re taken over the way CNN was taken over by Fox News,” he said. “It’s not really analogous.”
neighborhood watch
Car Canoeing in Queens!Brooklyn Heights: So the Coen brothers think they can disrupt the whole neighborhood for a month with their George Clooney film shoot and then make it up by donating to some community groups? We all know what the locals really wanted were backrubs from George. [Brooklyn Eagle]
Chelsea: Twenty-nine years ago today, Nancy Spungeon was bludgeoned (by Sid Vicious?) in the Chelsea Hotel’s Room 100 … an anniversary the inn’s new corporate management likely won’t be fêting. [Living With Legends]
Cobble Hill: We hope the new owner of that building who tried to evict those two elderly sisters is happy now. Tragically, one’s dead, and, more tragically, the other moved to Jersey. [Curbed]
Corona: There’s a lot of Dominican families here named Corona, but that’s just a coincidence … as is anyone here getting wasted on Corona beer. [Junction Blvd]
Greenpoint: Locals learn the hard way that if they want to instantly stop noisy after-hours construction, it’s better to call the cops than the DEP. Uh … duh? [Newyorkshitty]
Maspeth: Manhattanites won’t complain about a few curbside puddles when they see these videos of cars swimming through the streets of Queens yesterday. Eau-trageous! [Queens Crap]
Upper East Side: Unless those raccoons blocking your path as you run around the Central Park reservoir are foaming at the mouth, the Parks Department doesn’t want to hear about it. [UES Informer]