Since hotels, by their very nature, exist for out-of-towners, it's no surprise that they often draw the ire of actual city residents. Here's a roundup of some of the most frequently heard reasons that New Yorkers have for bashing the hotel next door:
1) Noise
In April, the Lower East Side's Thompson LES was hit with a $300 fine for its illegal rooftop tents, which were being used as an outdoor nightclub, after neighbors complained. It was just the latest salvo in a fights that has been going on for four years, beginning shortly before a video of an in-action Thompson LES pool party surfaced. Similar noise wars have been waged at the Cooper Square Hotel (now known as the Standard East Village) also complete with video evidence, and at THOR. And, while it's much less common, the noise can go both ways. Especially when you build your hotel next to an arts building with practice space for drummers.
2) Structural Damage
A building on Hester Street was demolished in 2009 after it was destabilized by construction of the Wyndham Garden Chinatown next door. This year, the tenants of that building finally got around to suing the developer, who also happened to have bought their building in order (they claim) to negligently destroy it. And new hotels destabilizing the neighboring buildings isn't an isolated incident — supporters of the Merchant's House, New York City's only remaining intact 19th century family home are currently engaged in a battle to stop developers from going through with plans to build a nine-story hotel next door, which they fear be the end of the 181-year-old Merchant's House.
3) Architectural Integrity
The Sperone Westwater Gallery has leveled various accusations at its proposed neighbor, the Chrystie Street Hotel, including that it will hurt the architectural integrity of the neighborhood and that it's "out of context with the Lower East Side," although the real problem might be that the new hotel would block the galleries views. A lawsuit to stop construction was filed earlier this year.
4) Generally Not Liking Donald Trump
Generally not liking Donald Trump is a great reason to do anything, and certainly a good reason (and also not the only reason) to oppose the Trump Soho's right to use a public plaza as an extension of its private cafe. In response to a 2011 attempt to do just that, Sean Sweeney wrote: "In other words, in an attempt at a zoning flim-flam that would rival any three-card monte dealer's stealth and chutzpah, Trump now taketh with one hand what he just gaveth with the other."
5) Famous People
Normally, "Jay-Z might show up" is not used as an argument against something, but it was in 2010 when KISS drummer Peter Criss's ex-wife Lydia spoke out against a fancy short-term rental conversion on her Upper West Side block. "They could have Jay-Z there, and he could have bodyguards with guns. They could have Lady Gaga there," Criss told Community Board 7. A solid point.
· Hotels Week 2013 [Curbed]