Gentrification jackpot: the Bowery House becomes homeless themed upmarket hotel

[editor]

tbf its neither "homeless themed" nor an "upmarket hotel" as the thread titles says

They had a room named after one of the hostel residents.

 

[ska invita]

They had a room named after one of the hostel residents.

that doesnt make it homeless themed - the disney hotel is a themed hotel - this is just a hostel

 

[editor]

that doesnt make it homeless themed - the disney hotel is a themed hotel - this is just a hostel

If you say so.

 

[ska invita]

They had a room named after one of the hostel residents.

i find that respectful, not cynical.

 

[spanglechick]

I stayed in a hostel in Sydney once, where all the rooms were named after cricketers, iirc. It wasn't a cricket-themed hostel, though. Not decorated in a special way or anything. Just a regular, slightly grubby and disappointingly unfriendly backpackers' hostel.

 

[ska invita]

I stayed in a hostel in Sydney once, where all the rooms were named after cricketers, iirc. It wasn't a cricket-themed hostel, though. Not decorated in a special way or anything. Just a regular, slightly grubby and disappointingly unfriendly backpackers' hostel.

basically this is what this is - a backpacker hostel
you can see in this pic how there are no ceilings, the rooms are like changing room cubicles YSWIM

 

[isvicthere?]

I'm amazed at the lengths some have gone to on this thread to "discredit" (imo without success) the editor for expressing misgivings about gentrification.

 

[killer b]

there's plenty to be uncomfortable with here tbf - my beef is with the hysterical overcooking of the story though. Why make out that the place is overun by guffawing hipsters paying through the nose for an 'authentic hobo experience' when that blatantly isn't true? That it's some high class establishment, when it's the cheapest hotel in New York?

I've not gone to any lengths, just pointed out where the story is bullshit. If you want to have a discussion about gentrification, great - do so. But discuss the actual facts rather than making up stuff to scream about.

 

[isvicthere?]

there's plenty to be uncomfortable with here tbf - my beef is with the hysterical overcooking of the story though. Why make out that the place is overun by guffawing hipsters paying through the nose for an 'authentic hobo experience' when that blatantly isn't true? That it's some high class establishment, when it's the cheapest hotel in New York?

Can you please point out the "hysterical" bit? I missed that.

 

[killer b]

Come on, the OP is two exclamation marks away from being a buzzfeed headline.

 

[isvicthere?]

Come on, the OP is two exclamation marks away from being a buzzfeed headline.

We're not going to agree on this.

 

[killer b]

ok, remove the word hysterical if you must. What about the rest of the post?

 

[editor]

i find that respectful, not cynical.

Shame the resident who it was named after didn't agree, eh? How is that respectful?

 

[killer b]

Eh? Apparently he doesn't know, so his approval (or otherswise) is currently unknown. No-one's asked him. Including all these concerned journalists.

(I don't think it's respectful btw - I think it stinks of the same kind of patronising head-patting that people do over the colourful town drunk and whatnot - but it isn't enough to base the colourful claims in the OP on)

 

[editor]

Eh? Apparently he doesn't know, so his approval (or otherswise) is currently unknown. No-one's asked him. Including all these concerned journalists.

(I don't think it's respectful btw - I think it stinks of the same kind of patronising head-patting that people do over the colourful town drunk and whatnot - but it isn't enough to base the colourful claims in the OP on)

Here's how those articles see it. it's disgusting.

An example of this is the hotel room called the Peppers Bunk, named after “Charlie Peppers,” among the building’s “most colorful longtime residents,” the hotel’s publicity material explains. There is, in fact, a silent, unapproachable tenant named Charlie who does, in fact, eat lots of peppers. He has not been told by the hotel that a room upstairs is named after him, or that he is considered colorful, or that his cubicle lifestyle is being used as a P.R. come-on.

One room has even been named after ‘one of the most colorful longtime residents’, although no-one is sure whether so-called ‘Charlie Peppers’ is aware of the ‘tribute’ being paid to his ‘colourful’ life. But whether he knows or not, his poverty, and that of his neighbours, is now a cultural niche to be mined for profit. It’s probably one step up from being thrown out on the street altogether, but there’s a peculiarly insidious violence about a vulnerable person’s entire existence being exploited as a tourist attraction behind their back. - See more at: http://theoccupiedtimes.org/?p=13143#sthash.xNYif82X.4clYi84b.dpuf

And here's the lovely room:
http://theboweryhouse.com/Bowery/peppers.html

And an interview with the race car driving owner : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/12/race-car-driver-allessand_n_1200090.html

 

[killer b]

Yes, I read them already. Where do they interview Charlie Peppers, I must have missed it?

 

[ska invita]

(I don't think it's respectful btw - I think it stinks of the same kind of patronising head-patting that people do over the colourful town drunk and whatnot - but it isn't enough to base the colourful claims in the OP on)

standardly thats likely too of course - i was trying to be generous

 

[editor]

Yes, I read them already. Where do they interview Charlie Peppers, I must have missed it?

Yes you have. Looks like you didn't bother reading the NY Times piece I posted earlier, but feel free to carry on defending the hotel and insisting that the story was all made up.

But Charlie has, at times, expressed his displeasure with the flophouse homage above him. Before the hotel, called the Bowery House, opened in midsummer in Lower Manhattan, this man of few words walked up to a couple of its workers and said, simply: Leave.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/us/at-bowery-house-hotel-flophouse-aesthetic-of-old.html?_r=0

 

[killer b]

No, I read that - that doesn't say he disaproves of the room named after him does it? It can't do, as they clearly haven't approached him. It simply interprets the actions of a chaotic homeless guy as supporting the premise of their article.

I'm not saying the story was all made up. I'm saying that significant parts of it were. Is that not enough? Must every word of something be fiction before we challenge it?

 

[editor]

No, I read that - that doesn't say he disaproves of the room named after him does it?

You appear to be comprehending plain English rather differently to me. And most other people, I imagine.

No, I read that - that doesn't say he disaproves of the room named after him does it? It can't do, as they clearly haven't approached him. It simply interprets the actions of a chaotic homeless guy as supporting the premise of their article.

I'm not saying the story was all made up.

You did earlier on. Shall I show you your quote?

 

[killer b]

I't's ok, I will.

that's because its about as made-up qs a daily mash story

What daily mash stories do, on the main, is take real stories and add ludicrous or exagerated elements for the purpose of comedy. Which is exactly what's been done here, except with a different purpose.

 

[killer b]

You appear to be comprehending plain English rather differently to me. And most other people, I imagine.

It clearly states in the article that he doesn't know the room has been named after him. How can he be angry about it?

 

[salem]

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/oct/28/bowery-house-hotel-new-york

One of the guest rooms has been named after a long-term flophouse resident, nicknamed "Charlie Peppers" due to his love of peppers. But no one on the hotel's staff has told Charlie, who can often be seen on the street.

The Guardian also say that no one has told Charlie. That's what 3 articles which make the same point. The thing is he must know now and he must keep telling these journalists the same thing. I would have thought the owners would just find another colourful character to name the bloody room after.

 

[editor]

It clearly states in the article that he doesn't know the room has been named after him. How can he be angry about it?

Are you expecting him to hold a video press conference to articulate his thoughts in a manner you are prepared to accept?

It would be exceptionally weird if he has not heard about it given he lives/loved there and enough journos must have told him by now.

 

[killer b]

clearly not, or they would have written about it wouldn't they?

 

[editor]

clearly not, or they would have written about it wouldn't they?

Ah, so now you're believing what's been written without question? Volte face-tastic!

 

[killer b]

If a journalist had spoken to him, what possible reason could there be for not giving his reaction? The only reason I can think of is because it doesn't support the story he's putting together. Do you think that's what's happened here?

 

[isvicthere?]

No, I read that - that doesn't say he disaproves of the room named after him does it?

We're arguing the semantics of "express displeasure with" vs. "disapprove of"?

Seriously?

 

[killer b]

no, we aren't.

 

[isvicthere?]

no, we aren't.

Well, I'm not. But you appear to be.