» 68th Street Hotel Plan Gets Thumbs-Down from Community Board

68th Street Hotel Plan Gets Thumbs-Down from Community Board

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

w68th-hotel-plan lydia-criss-w68th Both the West 68th Street Block Association and Community Board 7 met this week to discuss the plans to open a hotel at 15 West 68th (between Central Park West and Columbus), and after mixed opinions, CB7 decided to vote against it. Fine Times, a developer, wants to convert the historic townhouse at the address (above left) into a short-term rental property for the extremely wealthy. Single families or groups would be allowed to rent the house for a span of 7 to 30 days, and events could be held at the 11-bedroom townhouse for as many as 50 people. Some neighbors were not too keen on the idea, however. DNAinfo reports that Tuesday night’s meeting started with a statement from the former wife of KISS drummer Peter Criss, Lydia Criss (above right), who lives on the block. She argued that “this hotel could host community events including parties all day long and well into the night,” adding, “they could have Jay-Z there, and he could have bodyguards with guns, they could have Lady Gaga there.” Some other neighbors did side with Fine Times at last night’s meeting. Neighbor Nancy Pindrus called the developer, which owns 16 buildings on the Upper West Side including 4 on the block, “nothing but a positive influence” in the neighborhood. Fine Times had originally planned to rent the townhouse only to members of a private club at a rate of $50,000 per week so that they can “live like Upper West Siders,” but altered the plan to open it to all wealthy renters, ensuring that the plans stay high-end, and the property would “not be advertised on Orbitz or Travelocity.” CB7 still voted against the hotel plans, with the vote in essence a formality, as the Planning Commission and City Council have final say on the matter. Photos and info courtesy of DNAinfo; additional information can be found at the West 68th Block Association website.