Neighbors Petition to Fight the ‘Public Hotel’ Spelling Lights

Public Hotel remains in the spotlight with its window-lit spelling scheme.

The uppermost floors of both the northern and southern exposures of Ian Schrager’s new 28-story condo-hotel act as advertisement for the brand. In fact, the illuminated billboard (nay, Lite-Brite) shines 24/7.

Since the switch flipped, however, we’ve fielded a growing number of emails from neighbors who consider the installation an imposition and offensive. So much so, that a petition is now making the rounds.

“The lighted sign on the Public Hotel is quite offensive and shines into the windows of folks to its south and north,” one reader tells us.

The online petition is an open letter to hotelier Ian Schrager, calling him out for not being a “good neighbor” on the Lower East Side. Even before the 367-key hotel opens.

Congratulations on your new hotel, Public, on the Lower East Side. When you testified at Community Board 3 about the property, you talked about being a good neighbor and that you were a “downtown” person. Now you have lit up this neighborhood with your gigantic two sided sign shining uptown and downtown.

This is not art. It is advertising. This is not Vegas or Times Square. This is our home.