Grand Hotel: The Gramercy Makes it to the Tribeca Fest

The Gramercy Park Hotel was once as squalid and fabulous as the rest of New York. In fact, according to the synopsis for the documentary film Hotel Gramercy Park, it was "a drug-fueled haven for the likes of Bowie and Blondie." And so many other tempestuously fun good friends of mine. But a few years ago, hotelier Ian Schrager took the place over and made it upscale, with more art on the walls and fewer needles in the halls. The film—by Douglas Keeve, best known for the Mizrahi mirth-athon Unzipped—apparently views the hotel's transformation as a metaphor for all of New York. I agree—or at least I think I do. I have to wait to see the movie to see what I say. (Yes, I inevitably appear as a commentator, despite the fact that I've barely even been there. As Cindy Adams once wrote, "He's everywhere like crabgrass,") You can check it out too at one of four Tribeca Film Festival screenings starting Saturday April 26. Don't bring drugs.