THE WESTIN HOTEL SELLS OUR NYC STREETS

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THE WESTIN HOTEL RUINS

'QUALITY OF LIFE'

FOR TIMES SQUARE RESIDENTS
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Westin Hotel Limo Drivers Block Garage


Westin Doorman Loads Cab That Bribed Him



The bad neighbor policies still continue, even after our story the other day. If you didn't read our story on the bedbug complaints from Westin New York customers and the blatant disregard for the people in this neighborhood, CLICK HERE.

Until there are changes in the way the Westin operates, we will continue to write about the hotels continued custom of being bad neighbors. Today we will talk about the bribes to the Westin doorman and the problems the taxis and buses cause.


HOW THE BRIBES WORK


The Westin doorman make a huge amount of money from tips. I watch and I learn. One would expect that the guests at the Westin would tip the doorman for helping with luggage. This is something I do when I travel. But would you expect that the taxi drivers have to pay the doorman for the privilege of picking up a Westin customer who is going to the airport? Well this is the case.


Having watched the Westin doorman for quite a few years now, I know their system very well. If you are a taxi driver and you want a airport fare, you have to bribe the doorman. Can you imagine that? You have to pay these doorman to take their customers to the airport. If you refuse, they will demand that you move your taxi and they will direct airport fares to another driver that payed them off. Bribe the doorman or no fares to the airport.


Now I am not feeling sorry for the taxi drivers at all. They are breaking the law. I feel sorry for the 652 tenants that have to listen to horns because no one can get down the street. Besides the noise, the fumes from all the idling taxis and buses from the Westin are making the tenants in this building sick. When I had my apartment in the front of the building, the walls had to be painted every 6 months as they turned black from all the carbon monoxide residue that sticks to everything.


Now yesterday afternoon, parked right in the middle of the street, are taxis with their off duty signs on. Right in the middle of the street, can you imagine this disregard for the law. Now can you tell me if you are a taxi driver and you are off duty that you park your taxi in the middle of the street and stand on the sidewalk. You do not. Today I saw several regular people who needed a cab and the taxi driver refused to take them, saying he was off duty. But minutes later when the Westin doorman gave the taxi the signal for a airport fare, they pulled right up and were magically on duty once again. This is not only illegal in the city of New York, it is not right and the Westin condones this. The Westin doorman are selling our public streets to make a buck at our expense.



You have the taxis, limos and buses double parked and triple parked. Traffic is at a standstill and every truck and car are beeping their horns to get down the street. Is this right for the tenants of this building to suffer so much so the Westin doorman can make buck? Is it right that our emergency fire trucks and ambulances can not get down the street? Someone could die because the Westin doorman have to make money with no regard for the safety of New Yorkers.


The Westin's garage is blocked by these taxis and buses. The trucks making deliveries have to beep their horns for them to move and the tenants of this building have to listen to all of this.


Keep in mind that all of this is the Westin's fought. They run the street at the expense of the neighborhood and they do not care. The police walk by and see it all and do nothing. Traffic cops come down the street and do nothing. The Department Of Transportation and the Police are called and they say they will send someone over and never do. As I said in my last story on the Westin, I can only assume that since I see the police on a regular basis are going into the back door of the Westin, they are being fed for free or getting other perks. And yesterday, half of the day the Police were standing out front of the Westin and did nothing to enforce the laws.


I spoke to a woman today who is a tenant in this building. She said she has not slept in days because of the machines running outside the Westin for the power washing. Can you believe they do this in the middle of the night? Can't they do this in the early morning or something? Not at 2am. But the Westin Hotel does not care, they think they own this block.

Now as you can see from the photos above (you can click to enlarge), the Westin doorman loads a airport fare that the taxi driver bribed him for. This taxi driver sat there for over a hour, parked in the middle of the street waiting for this fare, with his of duty lights on. The doorman made some money but it cost the tenants in this building with the noise created by blocking traffic.


The photo of the limos blocking the Westin garage may not seem like much, but it is. There are two garage doors there, they clearly say "Do Not Block", but this is where the Westin doorman make them park. So truck deliveries come, they beep their huge loud truck horns to make them move and we have to listen to all of this. Then there is chaos on the street with the limos backing up and traffic backing up and no one can get down the street. Notice that this one limo is also in the middle of the street parked. The Westin does not care, it's all about their doorman making money and selling our street. It's all about the Westin and not about the neighbors.



THE WESTIN'S BROKEN PROMISES



I talked to several long time residents in my building who were here when the Westin hotel was proposed. They said that the Westin promised to be a good neighbor and to improve the quality of life of the neighborhood. They lied. The quality of life is worse since they built this ugly hotel. Our tenants in our building hate the Westin. The Westin should never have been designed like it was and our community board should have never approved this design. The Westin main entrance should have been on 8th avenue where there is plenty of room. We are sure the reason for this is they wanted a Times Square address and did not want to be associated with all the drug dealers, Peep Shows and prostitutes on 8th avenue. Sadly, guests of the Westin are subjected to the drug dealers, Peep Shows and the prostitutes on 8th avenue. And the Westin is right next door to a topless club that was just raided by the feds. Would you like to a stay at The Westin? Would you like to have a neighbor like this?


Next week we will have our cameras rolling with more pictures and video of the Law Breaking Westin New York Hotel.


Please comment below as you see fit.


Photos By: James Edstrom

Comments

Kathy Pool said…
Have you contacted the city James?
Anonymous said…
Shame on this hotel.
Anonymous said…
Horrible, wont stay there anymore.
Anonymous said…
Sad, thought Times Square would be a fun place to live.
Eric Swartz said…
Just canned my reservation, booking somewhere else. I don't like dealing with big business that could care less about people. What do you think about the New Intercontinental?