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Storied Plaza nears end of a chapter

The new owner plans to scale back the hotel, a social center of New York, to make room for high-end condos and stores.

By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN
Published April 5, 2005

NEW YORK - "Oooooooo I absolutely love the Plaza." - Kay Thompson's Eloise.

Like Eloise, the precociously bratty 6-year-old of children's book fame, generations of socialities, dignitaries, and ordinary, if well-heeled, guests have reveled in the French Renaissance grandeur of the city's most famous hotel.

Mention the Plaza to a New Yorker and you're apt to elicit memories of lavish weddings in the Terrace Room, of white-gloved teas in the Palm Court, of boozy initiations into adulthood in the Oak Bar or Trader Vic's.

It was here that Truman Capote threw his legendary Black and White Ball; that Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas wed in a paparazzi frenzy; that Macaulay Culkin went on a credit card binge in Home Alone 2 , one of more than 40 movies filmed in the hotel.

But the Plaza as millions know it may soon be gone.

On April 30, the hotel is scheduled to close for the first time in its 98-year history as its new owner, Elad Properties, begins a massive renovation. When it reopens in late 2006, most of the Plaza will be luxury condominiums and high-end retail space.

Though there will be 150 hotel rooms - down from 805 - the plans have gone over about as well as a stopped-up sink.

"I haven't met one person except the Elad group that wants this to happen," says Peter Ward, president of the union that represents the Plaza's 900 waiters, bellhops and other nonmanagement employees.

"Not only is the building itself magnificent, but the Plaza is a living part of the city - it has real personality and panache."

Since Elad began laying off workers and closing most of the Plaza's restaurants this winter, the union's fight to save the hotel has been joined by celebrities, politicians, preservationists and tourism officials worried about losing so many luxury rooms at a time when the city is enjoying a post-9/11 boom.

This afternoon, some 10,000 "Friends of the Plaza" are expected to march to Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, where the hotel sits on one of the priciest, most desirable pieces of real estate in the world. They hope to spur the city to block the conversion and protect the Plaza's ornate public areas.

The fight has even spread to Israel, home of Elad's parent company. The union dispatched two Plaza employees to drum up public support in hopes of pressuring the owners to change their plans.

As doorman Neil Johnson walked down a street in Jerusalem, a man gave him a friendly poke in the belly.

"I saw you on TV," he said, "and I want you to know we're all with you. Save the Plaza!"

* * *

"Oh my Lord, there's so much to do. Tomorrow I think I'll pour a pitcher of water down the mail chute."

The Plaza opened on Oct.1, 1907, and became the social center of New York. Vanderbilt was the first name on the guest register, followed by Astor, Whitney and others who waltzed under the soft light of 1,650 crystal chandeliers, dined on the finest of gold-rimmed china and presented their daughters to society in the high-ceiling opulence of the Grand Ballroom.

In the years the hotel was owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the world's fifth-richest man, members of the Saudi royal family arrived with suitcases full of cash and rented entire floors, replacing the hotel furniture with their own opulent accoutrements.

The Plaza was the place for bar mitzvahs, graduation parties and introductions to proper etiquette.

Alice Hoenig recalls dressing in her Sunday best - white gloves and black Mary Janes - to have tea with her mother in the Palm Court. One recent day, Hoenig accompanied her sister and 7-year-old niece, Katherine, to repeat the tradition, likely for the last time.

"We grew up in the city and the Plaza was part of our lives," said Hoenig, now 57 and a nurse. "This is a sad passing."

The family's first stop was the portrait of Eloise, where every day dozens of girls pose with the imp created by writer Kay Thompson and artist Hilary Knight in 1955.

Ensconced by her globe-trotting mother on the Plaza's top floor, Eloise lives with her turtle, Skipperdee, her dog, Weenie, and her "rawther" British nanny. Red bow in wiry hair, Eloise careens down the halls on roller skates and mashes every button on the elevators.

For years, Thompson lived free of charge at the Plaza, where she created a children's menu with Eggs Eloise and Teeny Weenies. The craze also spawned dolls, clothing and even a room in the Plaza with candy-striped wallpaper and the name "Eloise" scrawled on the mirror in red lipstick.

Donald Trump, another of the hotel's previous owners, kicked Thompson out of her rent-free digs in 1989 when she refused to allow her literary offspring to be used in the Plaza's marketing campaigns. Thompson died in 1998, but the staff continues to dote on Eloise and her fans.

"Hello, princess," Plaza doorkeepers greet prim young ladies. "There's a girl inside waiting to see you."

James Forrester, a longtime concierge, says children come up to him each day asking for Eloise. To add variety when directing them to her portrait - an earlier one was stolen several years ago - he keeps a pair of red pumps behind the counter.

"I say, "When you see Eloise, tell her to come back and get her shoes."'

At times, admittedly, it gets a bit cloying. Forrester recalls the unexpected response when one child asked, "Where's Eloise?"

Snapped her mother: "She's dead."

* * *

"Once there was this most terriblest storm ... absolutely no one was saved."

Even with her wild imagination, Eloise probably never would have predicted the condo conversion craze that is sweeping Manhattan. In recent years, several hotels have gone condo, but none can equal the prestige of the Plaza.

"Prices in all sectors of the market are skyrocketing, but the upper sector is absolutely phenomenal," says Steve Solomon, spokesman for Elad Properties. "And when you talk about a property at Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park with the historic and landmark status of the Plaza, you're talking about the most exciting condo development to come on the market in decades."

Elad bought the Plaza from Waleed last year for $675-million, or about $838,000 a room - the most paid for a New York hotel. Claiming the Plaza had lost money for years, the company announced a $350-million renovation that would convert most of the space into condos, ranging from one to four bedrooms with stunning views of Central Park.

No prices have been announced, but park-view condos can sell for $20-million or more.

Plans also include an "exclusive" department store in the Grand Ballroom and turning the Palm Court, Oak Room and other public areas into luxury shops. Although Elad vows to preserve the Plaza's architectural integrity, preservationists note with alarm that only the hotel's exterior facade has landmark status.

Ward, of the Hotel Trades Council, wonders what a pared-down Plaza would offer. "It's not going to have the magnificent restaurants or the ballrooms. It's not going to have any rooms that overlook the park - the rooms are going to overlook a garbage dump and a loading dock. A 150-room hotel is not a grand hotel."

The union's biggest issue, though, is the loss of so many high-paying jobs. Plaza room cleaners make $19.71 an hour; with tips, waiters can earn more than $100,000 a year.

Indeed, the Plaza is such a good place to work that waiter Salvatore Lercara is a third-generation employee. Both of his grandfathers had jobs there; his father is still waiting tables after 37 years.

Since Lercara joined the staff a decade ago, he has met former President Bill Clinton; served actors Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock and Courteney Cox; and had a wine list autographed by the New York Yankees.

"I'm living the American dream because of the Plaza," he says. At 31, he expects to find another hotel job but worries about older employees.

"They worked their whole lives to support their families, and they're getting thrown out on the street. (The new owners) just come in here and stand to make an obscene amount of money off the backs of New Yorkers with total disregard for our heritage. The Plaza is New York, it's a New York state of mind."

Ward, the union president, disputes claims the hotel is losing money, noting that no owner in the past five years has asked for wage or benefit concessions. He says the Plaza could thrive with far fewer condos; the City Council is considering a bill that would bar any hotel from converting more than 20 percent of its space to condominiums.

But Elad and other critics predict the bill would be struck down as an illegal interference with private property rights.

"I don't think at the end of the day that the Plaza Hotel is going to overrun the free enterprise system," says Solomon, Elad's spokesman.

As that final day draws near, a pall hangs over the Plaza. Room cleaners complain they are often short of washcloths and toiletries. The fresh lilies and tea roses are wilting at the edges. And employees pass around editorial cartoons, including one that shows a fat real estate agent booting Eloise out the door.

"Beat it, ya little brat," he growls. "These are condos now."

--Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at susan@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 5, 2005, 11:17:23]