Lower East Side Hotels Close During COVID-19 Shutdown
At least three of the trendiest hotels dotting the Lower East Side are now closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The glitzy PUBLIC Hotel on Chrystie Street is the latest venue to announce its temporary pause.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have finally decided to temporarily close PUBLIC on Monday, March 23rd,” hotelier Ian Schrager wrote to the hotel’s mailing list Monday evening. “Of course, we will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so.”
To close the 28-story hotel after just under three years at 215 Chrystie Street was apparently a tough call, and one that is “against everything I personally believe in.” However, public safety first…
“Closing is the only ethical, moral and humane thing to do in order to contain this illness and protect everybody,” he wrote.
The decision to close follows a few days after both the Bowery Hotel and Ludlow Hotel – owned by nightlife impresario Eric Goode – did the same. Their onsite restaurants (Dirty French, Gemma) are also down.
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