Hank Freid

Activists targeted hotelier Hank Freid last week as the focal point for their campaign against illegal hotel conversions citywide, calling the much-maligned developer a "scamlord" and picketing his Broadway Hotel this past Saturday.

Mr. Freid's lawyer chimed in this week to make a point -- those hotels aren't actually illegal:  read more »

Activists plan to rally at noon on Saturday outside controversial hotelier Hank Freid's Broadway Studios on the Upper West Side to "denounce the continued operation of illegal hotels" by "scamlords" citywide.

"We are targeting Hank Freid as an egregious illegal hotelier ... with a particularly insidious past," organizer Yarrow Willman-Cole told The Observer.

Mr. Freid earned the dubious distinction as one of New York City's "Worst Landlords" after contracting with the government to provide housing for homeless persons living with HIV/AIDS at his hotels amid hard economic times, then evicting those tenants to make way for upcale renovations once the economy rebounded.  read more »

It's budget chic in Chinatown!

Developer Derek Law will build a 12-story, 43-room "boutique-style hotel" on Allen Street, between Canal and Division streets, with plans to welcome guests in 2010.

Mr. Law, who submitted the permit to the Buildings Department today, has built one another hotel, a Howard Johnson in Flushing, Queens.

"We are going to emphasize the décor of the rooms and our guest service," said Mr. Law, of the yet-unnamed Chinatown inn.

Mr. Law said that high-end service won't come with a Penninsula-size price tag: "It will be like economy or mid-market."  read more »

Hotelier Hank Freid can't live on Starbucks alone.

So he's installing a new Thai restaurant at his refurbished Marrakech Hotel at Broadway and 103rd Street.

Mr. Freid has enlisted the proprietors of pad-thai palaces Klong in East Village and Room Service in Chelsea to open a new 1,200-square-foot eatery called Sookk.

Meaning "happiness" in Thai, Sookk will specialize in cuisine inspired by the Yaowarat District, which is Bangkok's version of Chinatown, according to a press release.

“Sookk is in keeping with the unique and eclectic quality that the hotel is known for,” Mr. Freid said in a statement.

• Some good West Side news to start your day! The City has agreed to rezone the 13-acre Hudson Yards for highrise development, which is a departure from their earlier, sillier offer. And instead of paying general taxes, wealthy developers will be contributing money for the $2.15 billion subway extension of the No. 7 Line. That has to please MTA, the railyards' owner. (New York Times)
• CNN, a reasonable voice of sheer alarmist panic, says: "Economists, investors and even Federal Reserve policymakers express concern that the slumping real estate market will hurt the economy." But look on the bright side: the funds that are taken out of homes are getting pumped into the needy hands of stock brokers. (CNN/Money)
• The century-old Portland Square Hotel at West 47th has been hijacked by developer Hank Freid, the head of the Impulsive Group. Is it a bad thing? Mr. Freid will spend $7.5 million on turning the rustic Square into "Sanctuary," a 115-room luxury hotel. How much for a night at Sanctuary? $265 to $1,800. (The Real Deal)
• The new LES development that has been wisely called "that big blue thing [with] obvious aesthetic misfortune" has been selling some apartments. What's BLUE's secret? The obvious marketing misfortune of pricechopping. (Curbed)
• The helpful folks at Forbes inform that there's more to buying real estate abroad "than a charming escape and bragging rights to your villa in the south of France." What's their advice for global home hunting? "Don't buy on impulse, when you're buoyed by tropical cocktails." True. (Forbes)
- Max Abelson
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