Here is Hilton’s Statement

In the lawsuit, originally filed in mid-2008, Starwood accused Hilton of stealing thousands of confidential documents and material which had information on how to create, brand and operate a boutique/lifestyle hotel brand. At the time, Hilton had wooed two Starwood Executives, and essentially their entire support staff and in a matter of months created the Denizen hotel brand. The support staff and executives had intimate knowledge of Starwood’s W hotel brand.

Starwood was sure to win this case from the beginning – starting with the drop shipment of thousands of propriary Starwood documents to Starwood’s corporate headquarters with a note from Hilton’s lawyers stating in essence “we found these in our possession, and thought they should be sent back to you”.

In the aftermath of the lawsuit, Hilton’s boutique/lifestyle brand – Denizen – was completely cancelled, and their entire luxury development team fired, it went right up to the top with Steve Goldman stepping down from Hilton.

The settlement between Starwood & Hilton has been detailed as containing the following three items

1. A moratorium on Hilton working on the development/planning/creation of any lifestyle brand until January 2013
2. A cash sum payment to Starwood, the amount of  which was not detailed
3. The supervision of Hilton by federally appointed monitors to ensure Hilton will be abiding by these rules.

In addition, it mentioned that the Federal Grand Jury investigation is still continuing and this settlement has nothing to do with that investigation. According to the Wall Street Journal, Hilton has been told it should not expect charges to be filed against it in the investigation; I think the settlement with Starwood should push that investigation to a close and will probably result in no action since Starwood seems to be satisfied with the results.

There was really no doubt in my mind that the case would end this way – it was just a matter of how long it would be until Hilton could develop a boutique/lifestyle brand, and how much Hilton would have to pay Starwood. I still wonder what it has done to the careers of Amar Lavlani and Ross Klein.. Are they ever to be employed by a major corporation again? It’s a sad story because I knew both of them, and have met them a few times, so I’m still a little suprised that they did what they did – but I think it comes down to this: money talks.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

I have to say, it’s hard to believe that this day actually came – almost a year later than it was originally supposed to open under the original developer Bruce Eichner, and 5 years after the project had its groundbreaking. In fact, a lot of people thought it would never open at all. It’s interesting to note that the Cosmopolitans neighbor – MGM’s CityCenter – took less time and is much, much much bigger.

I wanted to share some sidenotes about the Cosmopolitan and it’s development that seem to have been lost in the shuffle of it’s grand opening today..

-Unlike the original plans, condos will only be in the West Tower (the West Tower is the one not on the Las Vegas Strip), originally the condos were to be split between the two towers and intermixed with hotel rooms.

-There are about 2,000 condos available for sale still, only 214 are under contract – possibly to close on Jan 1st. (via LV Review Journal)

-Bruce Eichner, the original developer of the Cosmopolitan, is already off onto another project – just like he said he would be in the WSJ article I posted to in my first Cosmopolitan Las Vegas post. He is looking to finish the troubled One Madison Park highrise right on NYC’s Madison Square Park, an absolutely beautiful building which is going through the same troubles that the Cosmopolitan once went through – at least this time he’s trying to be the savior instead of looking for one.

-The interiors of the Cosmopolitan were designed by David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group – he’s the same person who created Starwood’s aLoft interiors, and a favorite restaurant of mine which is a little closer to home – Bobbys Burger Palace. Apparently Bruce’s original interior elements contained 20-ft high dancing robots, which to me would be just ridiculous.

-The Cosmopolitan project is still owned by Deutsche Bank, and Deutsche intends to make the project a long term investment and play an active role in its management. Out of all the other major Vegas/Atlantic City casino projects, Deutsche is the only one who actually stuck to it’s guns and finished the project in this economy. They get kudos in my book for that. Recently, Morgan Stanley let it be known via an SEC filing that they would let their Revel Atlantic City project essentially sit vacant and unfinished for years until the economy bounces back since they have been unable to find a buyer. That’s even after Morgan Stanley was willing to take no money for the project until the investor made a 20% return on their investment of at least $1.2 billion to finish and open the development.  The Fountainebleu in Vegas, which is over 70% finished – a lot of rooms were completely furnished – was purchased for only $150 million by Carl Icahn, leaving the lenders with almost a $1 billion loss.. Wow.. I think that in 5 to 10 years Deutsche Bank is going to look great by finishing this project and not selling it for a song. This economy is tough though, and if you don’t have the capital, well – you’re hands are tied. Deutsche Bank is a large, worldwide company, but they are still almost have the size of JP Morgan Chase & Bank of America by assets.

-Ok, I have to make one mention of the interior of the hotel which has been bugging me until today.. You know those 8 pillars in the lobby (if you’ve seen pictures or video of the lobby, you’ll know what I mean) are full video walls on all four sides, floor to ceiling, no projection screens, no 3D images, no LED walls, they are full motion video screens. Wow.

Best of luck to the Cosmopolitan! Only 40 more minutes until the first bet is placed.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

Today, she posted a story giving some details – not too many though – in fact many details aren’t even set in stone by Schrager himself.. But in a nutshell, he’s looking to create two new hotel brands, kinda like Morgans Hotel Group Pt II; a high end brand, and a low end brand.

Not surprisingly, the article states that neither of the brands will be considered competition to the Edition brand – but surprisingly he considers Edition a mid-tier hotel brand, whereas I always considered it pretty high-end luxury.

In fact, he states:

How would this compare to an Edition hotel, if hypothetically, one were to open in the same city? In the case the Ambassador East hotel, it would be the cheaper of the two, he said.

The first hotel will be the former Ambassador East in Chicago which Schrager purchased in April of this year with the intention of gutting it and putting his own name on it, instead of Edition as most expected.

Schrager’s idea of low priced boutique hotel may still be out most people’s budget, personally, I think low-priced boutique hotels would be in the range of $150-200, but Schrager is expecting the Ambassador East to average $225 a night.

The article also goes to mention that the company will grow slowly and look to purchase older, worn out hotels that haven’t been put to their full use in years. (I can think of one hotel which would be a great purchase – the Berkeley Carteret in Asbury Park – that would fit that criteria to the T).

Schrager isn’t out to re-prove himself, he’s done it already, I think he wants to create these brands, and these properties because he wants to and he feels there is a need to be filled. I think if Schrager can make a boutique brand at a low price point, it will really turn the boutique hotel industry on its head.

Going back to the comment about purchasing older, worn out hotels; I can almost picture it now: Ian Schrager as the Statue of Liberty “give me your tired, your poor……”

andrew@alconic-inc.com

The benefits for those hotel owners is the ability to tap into Marriott’s excellent supply chain, taking advantage of the discounts that Marriott gets because of its large buying power. The real benefits that will put actually put more heads in beds is allowing guests to earn or redeem Marriott Rewards points for their stays as well as the exposure the hotel will gain by being part of Marriott’s reservation system.

It’s interesting that Marriott would choose to go this route – historically Marriott prefers to heavily brand their properties and supply each property with plenty of Standards and Procedures. Although hotels in the Autograph Collection will still have to meet certain criteria to be part of the group, they are not requiring every hotel to have the same type of sheets or serve the same type of breakfast selections as you’d find in a Courtyard or Marriott.

I really dont see any major downside to this new “Brand” but I think it will be interesting to see how many people will stay at an Autograph Collection hotel when all they were looking to do was stay at a Marriott or Courtyard. Marriott has owned Ritz-Carlton for years, and has not really integrated Ritz Carlton’s marketing and reservations with that of Marriott’s. I think the reason being that associating Ritz Carlton so close with Marriott may cheapen the brand.

On the other hand, I can see a hotel which is part of the Autograph Collection emphasizing its affiliation with Marriott – giving a guest who has otherwise never heard of the hotel enough trust (via the Marriott affiliation) to stay at the hotel.

Marriott is saying that they will have at least 25 hotels under the brand by the end of 2010; I’m really interested to see what these hotels will be like. Will the Autograph Collection be similar to Starwood’s Luxury Collection – very high-end properties in spectacular locations – or will it hold it’s own and have a unique mix of everything from 50 room modern boutique hotels, to 200-year-old historic properties?

We’ll have to see.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

Well, it will be opening in 2009 – first week in May if all goes well – and surprisingly, (or maybe not) it will initially be a seasonal hotel, closing in late October until the following May. If interest in the hotel is there for the winter, perhaps it will stay open year round. Pretty soon their website will be up and running at http://www.bungalowhotel.net

Bungalow Hotel Lobby Bar

Bungalow Hotel Logo

Bungalow Hotel Check-In Desk

Bungalow Hotel "Sail"

Bungalow Hotel Main Entrance

Bungalow Hotel Outside Seating/Lobby Area

(Wow. I really need a new digital camera – sorry for the colors being so off)

From the outside the Bungalow Hotel looks almost like an aloft – the sail over the front of the building is very reminiscent of the swoosh that is the signature architectural element of aloft hotels, but I can assure you that it was absolutely a coincidence. The design of the Bungalow building has been around since 2004, whereas aloft was only introduced in 2005, and images renderings released the following year.

Bungalow’s logo is reminiscent of what you’d expect to find in South Beach – and the room designs also follow that, but officially its a design based on an “international surf-hotel”.. Except for the sex-wax on the shelves and surfing pictures on the walls of the rooms, I don’t really see that. Then again – if someone were to ask me to describe what a “surf hotel” is.. I wouldn’t even know where to start.

Bungalow is a true boutique hotel – a total of 24 rooms over three floors, with a lobby on the ground floor with a check-in desk that is not the center focal point. The lobby has a lobby bar and will be open to the public, in addition it will have a 1950′s authentic pool table and foosball table and during the summer there are garage roll-up doors which will be opened allowing the lobby to flow outside.

There is no room service available in the hotel – but the other restaurants within Pier Village will all provide menus in the rooms and offer a delivery service, which means that guests can get everything from a steak dinner, sushi, to pizza or in the morning a gourmet breakfast.  All the rooms offer wet-bars and mini fridges (pretty substantially sized mini fridges) which is a hold over from the original plans of the hotel being a condo-hotel. All the rooms have gas fire places which are surrounded by marbles instead of logs, a pretty unique and modern spin on a fireplace. Unfortunately there is only one room that would be considered an “ocean view” room – and wow, it is an ocean view. The position of the hotel within Pier Village blocks all the other ocean views – but you still will get the full ocean experience while you’re there. The sun shone in so brightly in one room that it was difficult to not squint.

Below are some of the “official” images that will be used to showcase the rooms.

Room rates should start in the $300 per night range, and for the larger rooms – one bedrooms, and two bedrooms, they will obviously be higher.

Even in a down economy I think this hotel will do great.. There is only 24 rooms to fill and it fills a niche that is very under served int he Jersey Shore market – a high end boutique-like hotel. Right next door to Pier Village is the Ocean Place Hotel, formerly a Hilton which is located right on the ocean front, but its a hotel that’s showing its age and is extremely expensive for the condition and quality of the rooms.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the reception that the finished hotel will get from the public its really a one of a kind hotel in this area, and hopefully will be a launching pad for other new hotels to be built. The Jersey Shore is a famous and very popular vacation destination – but there are very very very few nice hotels located within the shore towns.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

Its interesting to note that in 2003 Holiday Inn also went under a brand relaunch. Initially it seemed to be mainly tied to including a bistro and indoor waterpark at the hotel – but also a refresh of the logo. Except for the logo, nothing seems to really have taken off with that rebranding. Perhaps they will be more successful this time.

New Holiday Inn Logo

New Holiday Inn Express Logo

When the latest brand relaunch was announced in 2007, the franchise owners were supposed to bear the majority of the costs – IHG was only going to contribute a small amount, which would probably have shown up as a small credit line item on each owner’s monthly statement – or would have been a cost that the franchise owner would never have really paid for in the first place – redoing Holiday Inn’s website, and promotional materials, or something along those lines.

Over the summer there was alot of grumbling from the franchise owners about this rebranding effort, the cost it would entail and the overall decline of the travel industry. While the owners loved the rebranding effort and were pleased to see Holiday Inn finally coming into a more modern age, the timing was just not good.

It seems that Holiday Inn finally got the message and is allowing hotels to wait until the end of 2010 (and not even making that a definite date) to change over their signs and incorporate the other parts of the rebranding. The biggest part was removing the requirement that all hotels have to have flat screen LCD TVs.

In the meantime, in my travels I have only seen one Holiday Inn which has gone through the rebranding process – and that was a brand new hotel in Charleston, SC. At that location, except for the road sign, the Holiday Inn text was used rather than the “H” graphic. One feature I liked alot was how the property seemed to glow green. Not only does it portray a bit of environmental friendliness, its a clean color that shows off very well and makes you think of Holiday Inn.

There is a Holiday Inn down the street from where I live that is currently going through a renovation (new owners rehabiliating an old, tired hotel – the renovation would have been done with or without a chain-wide rebranding effort), and I fully expect the new brand to be displayed throughout the hotel and its signs. It almost seems to me as though the only hotels going through the re-branding are those which are new builds or already going through renovations.

Holiday Inn Express is no better, I have not seen one Holiday Inn Express sporting the new branding, but (I feel like I’m a broken record) there is a Holiday Inn Express being built down the road from me which I fully expect to have the new logos and look of the Holiday Inn Express brand.

Overall, I do agree that Holiday Inn needed this refresh. Some of the hotels were so tired and old it seemed as though they didn’t get the memo that it wasn’t the 50′s when the chain first started out. I’ve seen some hotels still using the former logo which was originally phased out in 2003, and the overall consistency of the hotels is just not there. In some locations a Holiday Inn is a very nice location, whereas in others, the Holiday Inn is up to par with a Motel 6. As part of this relaunch effort IHG is expecting to drop almost half of their 1,100 Holiday Inn franchises.

While my parents may feel that a Holiday Inn is one of the best hotel values for their money – since they did grow up with the brand, and it was the dominate one in the industry for years, I personally would prefer to stay at a Four Points, or Hampton Inn – and notice, those are not full service hotels, they are limited service hotels..

On a creative note though, I’m not a big fan of the boxiness of the new logo. Most hotel brands are creating logos that is not constrained by a shape like a box (The ‘H’ in the new logo seems to always be surrounded by a green box). While the font, and colors reflect a more modern, trendy design – it’s being held back a bit by the boxy design.

The Holiday Inn Express logo is just plain boring – nothing more than the new “H” with the text Holiday Inn Express displayed to the right of it. Its almost as though the design team didn’t even get creative on it! I do hope that there is more to the Express logo than IHG has been displaying on its website and in some promotional materials.

Holiday Inn is back on the right track with this latest relaunch, and it’s great that they are showing some compassion for the economic state by moving the date for when the new look needs to be rolled out, I hope that inbetween now and then IHG doesnt make anymore missteps, because while it is the worlds largest hotel company, its almost turning into Marriott by paying more attention to opening locations rather than propping up their brands and making a story about them.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

Does FontaineBleau have intentions to open an outpost in Atlantic City? I haven’t heard anything or seen anything that would demonstrate that they would, but I was just looking at their video for the FontaineBleau location in Vegas and there is a 4 second clip of Atlantic City. (Right as the voiceover says ”Introducing a new culture defined by..”) I know its Atlantic City because the Resorts building and the Atlantic Palace condo tower are clearly recognizable and so is the boardwalk.

It could very well be an error when the video was edited – instead of stock footage of Vegas, stock footage was taken of AC – and those who are not completely familiar with the AC/Vegas skyline may never even figure it out.

But it also could be an indication of things to come for the FontaineBleau. Using the experience they’ve gained opening in the Las Vegas market – opening in AC would be a very logical location, not only because of the gambling, but also its relation to the beach.. The original FontaineBleau in Miami is located right on the beach, so having a casino and the infamous curved hotel building would hark back to both of the existing properties.

The more I think about it – the more I think the AC shot was a mistake – not intended as a “hint” of things to come, but I really wouldn’t be surprised to see a location in Atlantic City in the future anyway..

ALIS is coming up in two weeks where Hilton is expected to be announcing their Extended Stay brand, and then in March, they will announce their “global lifestyle brand” codenamed Project Global 21. The news that really piqued my interest and told me that Hilton was finally on its way and Blackstone’s money wasn’t wasted was an email I received which advertised the “Hilton Prestige Portfolio” which is what Ross Klein is in charge of.

From the current indications – hes been quite a busy person since he resigned at Starwood and moved to Hilton’s Beverly Hills headquarters earlier in 2008. 

(Click To Enlarge)

There has been alot of talk about the repositioning of the Conrad brand and the breaking out of the Waldorf=Astoria brand, and it looks like 2009 will be the year it happens.

It looks like Conrad will come out to be the global luxury brand of Hilton – focusing on the luxury business traveler, vs families or vacationers.

Its interesting that Hilton is putting its luxury brands into their own “group” very similar to how Starwood put their luxury brands into the “Luxury Brand Group” and Starwood even went so far as to put the headquarters for that division in New York City – rather than Starwood’s headquarter complex in White Plains, NY.

I also found it interesting how much Hilton is differentiating the Waldorf Astoria in New York City with the rest of the Waldorf Astoria collection. It’s obvious that Hilton took the idea that Starwood & Barry Sternlicht had when he took the St Regis in New York and built an entire hotel brand around it – St Regis Resorts. Hilton differs from Starwood by continuing to set the original Waldorf Astoria  apart from the other hotels in the Waldorf Astoria Collection, which continues to respect and elevate the original brands namesake from the rest, I think most would agree that original St Regis in NYC has lost a bit of its luster when it was joined, yet not really differentiated from in a marketing standpoint from the other St Regis’s around the world.

Another change that I’ve noticed recently is the look of the Waldorf Astoria Collection’s website. It looks strikingly similar to the LXR Resorts website – same font, same layout, same search options, I know the reason behind it (I’ll explain in a minute) but it just makes you chuckle a little. LXR’s layout and design is so clean, and smooth it exudes luxury – without making you think Victorian or 19th century. That is the same image that Hilton seems to want to give Waldorf Astoria Collection.

Waldorf=Astoria Collection Website

LXR Resorts Website (Click to Enlarge)

Without a doubt the most exciting thing to come from Hilton is their Boutique brand. Project Global 21 has been in the works since 2007 – and I’m sure its been much longer than that. Out of the major international brands, Hilton is the last entrant in to the boutique hotel field and they realize they have alot of catching up to do. After they were purchased by Blackstone the whole Hilton empire was questioned, but I think now its clear as to the direction where the Hilton brands are going and that Blackstone will not hold them back.

It will be interesting to see what the Project Global 21 announcement in March is, I’ll be keeping my eyes open and ears close to the ground, because what I’ve been hearing about the brand sounds great.. A brand that specializes in conversions, yet manages to still keep its identity. A brand for “the soccer mom” who wants to be in a modern/trendy hotel, but feels overpowered by the W, or Andaz concept which can be a little overwhelming for a family of 4 from suburban America. I’ve also heard that the brand will launch with “products” which makes me wonder what they are going to be selling… The whole idea of calling it a “lifestyle” brand rather than a boutique brand – it’s either marketing speak or really is a different concept, we’ll have to find out.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

As I’ve written about numerous times on this blog – The Chelsea located in the former Holiday Inn on the Boardwalk and adjoining Howard Johnson in Atlantic City is the first non-casino boutique hotel in Atlantic City. It’s also the first hotel in non-casino hotel to be opened in a number of decades that is not of the economy segment – of which Atlantic City has many of tucked in between some casinos in the boardwalk area.

The Chelsea had its work cut out for it, bringing in a hotel that has no branding or worldwide reservations center to support it, nor a casino ensuring a steady customer base day in and day out. After seeing these renderings and viewing the website – I’m happy to say that I think The Chelsea will be an overwhelming success.

The Chelsea is being positioned as more than just a hotel – its being positioned as an “it place”. Rather than boring restaurants that serve a very unoriginal menu the developers have brought in Stephen Starr to run two restaurants – one a steakhouse and another is a diner-inspired restaurant called Teplitzky’s. The design and decor of Teplitzky’s is unique because it brings back thoughts of the old-fashioned diners, and hotel-restaurants such as the Howard Johnson’s Restaurants (fitting since the building was once a Howard Johnson). Additionally The Chelsea’s destination place will be “The 5th Floor” which I believe will only be open to the public during the evening and contain a number of bars, lounge, game room, large pool deck and cabanas. During the summer it’s easy to see how it will be a popular night spot for those who dont want to spend all day in the Casino. Lastly, The Chelsea will include a spa which has a salt-water pool and has a lot of emphasis on salt type-treatments.

Of course you cannot forget the rooms, the hotel will be divided into two sections – Chelsea Luxe and Chelsea Lite. I’m pretty sure the Luxe portion will be in the high-rise adjoining the boardwalk, whereas the Lite portion will be the former Howard Johnson hotel which is only a few stories high and does not offer the same views as the high-rise portion. The room amenities will be the same, yet I think the only difference will be the size, decor and of course – the views.

The entire premise of The Chelsea is based upon bringing the Atlantic City of yesteryear back – yet with a modern twist. As I’ve mentioned previously in some posts, I don’t completely see that via the renderings, but then again – I really don’t know what my idea of a modern yesteryear is, but I’ll reserve final judgement for when the hotel opens as a lot of times its difficult to tell just via computer generated renderings. Although, the exterior look – pink neon lights & a classic neon sign clearly do the job!

The hotel is due to open in mid-July 2008, a minor delay from their original Memorial Day weekend opening – yet still very commendable since they have clearly done a top down renovation which started only in mid-2007.

Exterior of The Chelsea Atlantic City

The 5th Floor Pool Area – Click to Enlarge

The Crystal Room – The Chelsea’s Banquet Facility

The Chelsea Prime Steakhouse

Luxe Bedroom

Teplitsky’s Restaurant

andrew@alconic-inc.com

For me personally, I am extremely interested in design – something that looks different from what you may always see, or at least be used too, yet nothing that stands out like a sore thumb. I realize that design (art) is really in the eye of the beholder – something that may stand out to me as one of the best implementations of, lets say, a hotel lobby, or a color scheme, or a logo, may look like the ugliest thing ever to the person standing next to me.

My mother is an elementary school art teacher and I’ve always been surrounded by art and encouraged by her to be creative – draw, paint, etc. Unfortunately (sorry mom!) I’ve never been very interested in being “creative” via those outlets – the way I enjoy being “creative” is by building, and constructing things – be it my Lego town when I was in elementary school (the size of two pieces of plywood placed side by side), to my current interest – creating and working with hotels. I’ve always been encouraged to study or take up architecture, but that’s never interested me because, well – I just dont enjoy drawing. It’s a little contradicting, I know…

Anyway, last week the artist,  Olafur Eliasson in conjunction with The Public Art Fund, and the City of New York announced plans to build four man-made waterfalls in the East River of New York as part of an art installation called “The New York City Waterfalls“. The plan is for four structures, just off the shoreline of the Brooklyn Bridge (on the Brooklyn side), by Governors Island, Pier 35 in Manhattan, and between Pier 4 & 5 in Brooklyn  – reaching heights of 90 to 150 feet from the river surface, built with the same type of scaffolding you might see around any building site (particularly New York City), with pumps that will provide a constant flow of water from the top of the structure from 7AM to 10PM. At night they will be lit up – offering what it sure to be yet another very unique appearance.. The exhibition will last from mid-July to mid-October.

Here are pictures of how the waterfalls sites are supposed to look:

 
Brooklyn Bridge Waterfall

Governors Island Waterfall

Waterfall between Pier 4 & 5 in Brooklyn

Waterfall in front of Pier 35 in Manhattan

What interests me so much about this art exhibition is the size and height of these structures – roughly 9 to 15 stories high, and how they contrast with sites and locations that we’ve become accustomed to – the Brooklyn Bridge, Governors Island, the NYC Skyline, etc. Not only that but the sight of these large, stationary structures in the middle of the hustle and bustle of NYC and the East River will be sure to make anyone stop for a minute and just take it in. Seeing a waterfall, which brings images of nature, and natural surroundings in the middle of the busy commercial an industrial surroundings of the East River will be quite an experience – maybe not to everyone, but to some. At the very least, it will make people do a double take: ‘how and why is there a waterfall, in the middle of the East River??!!’

I have to admit, when I first heard of this idea – but the analytical side of me immediately had two questions – how was power going to be supplied to these pumps? Is it going to be a generator on each waterfall structure? Will there be power provided by land? Will the power line be hidden underwater? How will the structures stay upright and in place, since in the renderings they don’t appear to be placed on a barge or anything of that nature.

This project is somewhat along the lines of the temporary art display called The Gates: Central Park, where the famed artist Cristo lined 23 miles of walking paths within Central Park with over 7,500 gates, each unfurling a large orange sheet of fabric. The Gates exhibition lasted only from February 12th to 27th in 2005, yet it brought a lot of attention to NYC and brought more attention to the arts.

The Gates exhibition did not excite me because seeing orange pieces of fabric flapping in the wind just doesn’t excite me – but floating waterfalls in the busy east river, placed within a commercial and industrial surrounding that is recognizable almost worldwide does.

The New York City Waterfalls is sure to be another popular art exhibition, I personally cannot wait to see it, as even though almost every paper that I read will have some type of coverage of it – seeing it in person will can not compare to a picture in the newspaper. I can’t wait to see what else New York City and The Public Art Fund dream up next!

andrew@alconic-inc.com