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New York Helmsley Hotel (formerly The New York Harley – a Helmsley Hotel)
212 East 42nd Street
New York City NY

The hotel's porte-cochere
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The 41 floor 773-room New York Harley Hotel was built by Harry Helmsley in 1981. Harley is taken from the first 3 letters of Harry and the first two letters of his wife’s name Leona. Harry married Leona in 1972 and named Leona the president of Helmsley Hotel in 1980. Leona was once a Chesterfield girl appearing in the cigarette maker’s ads. Under Leona’s leadership The Harley hotel had 3 general managers in its first year and half of operations.

The Harley had rates of $60-$80 in 1981 and its advertising tag line was “a great hotel with all kinds of extra touches – like a bathroom phone and remote control color TV”. Another advertising line was “Harley Hotel New York - A great hotel does not have to be expensive.”

The hotel’s bar was called Harry’s Bar and the hotel restaurant was named Mindy’s, Leona’s middle name. The hotel’s insignia was two interlocking H’s – which stood for Harley Hotel and not Helmsley Hotels.

The architect was Emery Roth & Sons who also designed the Helmsley Park Lane in 1971 and the World Trade Center in 1973.

Harry Helmsley was a real estate mogul who built a company that became one of the biggest property holders in the United States. His portfolio at one time included the Empire State Building, the Flatiron and Toy Center buildings on Fifth Avenue.

His hotel portfolio in 1981 included The Helmsley Palace, the Park Lane Hotel, the Harley Middletowne Hotel, the New York Harley, The Harley Windsor Hotel, the St. Moritz and the Carlton House hotels. In 1981 in an attempt to expand outside of New York City Helmsley bought the Hospitality Motor Inn chain from Standard Oil of Ohio for $36 million and renamed it Harley Hotel chain.

In 1989 Leona Helmsley is indicted for tax fraud. She was imprisoned from 1992-1993.

Harry Helmsley dies in 1997, leaving entire estate to Leona.

In 1997 Ritz-Carlton pulled its flag from the Central Park South hotel owned by Saudi Arabian businessman Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim al-Ibrahim leaving the Ritz chain without a hotel in Manhattan. Ritz Carlton looked very hard at acquiring the Helmsley New York. Ritz was prepared to spend millions overhauling the hotel which had not received a significant renovation since opening 18 years earlier.

According to the NY Times, hotel experts say Leona Helmsley was expecting $200 million+ for the property or $250,000 per room – but Ritz Carlton and and also Patriot American balked at that price. The bidders were not willing to pay more than $160 million for a property that needed tens of millions of dollars in renovations some said.

Leona Helmsley decided she was up to the task of turning around the underperforming property. In 1997 it is estimated the New York Helmsley was running 70% occupancy, below the city average of 80%. Some rooms going for as low as $150 a night.

The NY Times quoted hotel experts as saying the Helmsley New York suffered from high management turnover and a lack of affiliation with a national hotel chain. John Fox of PKF Consulting told the NY Times "Nobody knows it's there."

The hotel became the New York Helmsley Hotel following the sale of the Harley Hotel chain in 1998.

Leona Helmsley died in 2007.

In May 2010 the trust managing the estate completed a renovation of the lobby, Harry’s Bar and Mindy’s restaurant – which oddly was named Leona’s after the Queen of Mean.

Zack Zahran, the hotel’s general manager told the NY Times ''Not many people know the name Mindy was the middle name of Leona, we chose to make it Leona's.''

The new menu for Leona’s also created ill feelings with consumers as the menu stated at the bottom “For the high standard of service, a 19 percent gratuity will be applied to your check.” This policy seems to run afoul with the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs.

Executive Chef Brian Wieler designed the new menu and the interiors were done by J/Brice International Design of Boston.

The Trust managing the Leona Helmsley estate told The Real Deal in November 2010 the New York Helmsley Hotel has drawn 15 different bidders – including Tishman Hotel & Realty. The bidding hopefuls made offers exceeding $300 million.

According to HVS the Helmsley New York was sold in January 2011 by the Estate of Leona Helmsley to Host Hotels for $313,500,000 ($405,000 per room)

Upon the change in ownership GM Zack Zahran returned to the Helmsley Park Lane as the General Manager. He is the former Resident Manager and Director of Food and Beverage of the Peninsula New York.

Host Hotels & Resorts expects top flag the hotel under the Westin Hotels & Resorts brand in mid-2012 after an extensive renovation of the 775 guest rooms and upgrade of the meeting place. Host has contracted with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, parent company of Westin, to operate the hotel on a daily basis.

New York Helmsley Hotel (formerly The New York Harley – a Helmsley Hotel)
212 East 42nd Street
New York City NY

All glass entrance
----------
The 41 floor 773-room New York Harley Hotel was built by Harry Helmsley in 1981. Harley is taken from the first 3 letters of Harry and the first two letters of his wife’s name Leona. Harry married Leona in 1972 and named Leona the president of Helmsley Hotel in 1980. Leona was once a Chesterfield girl appearing in the cigarette maker’s ads. Under Leona’s leadership The Harley hotel had 3 general managers in its first year and half of operations.

The Harley had rates of $60-$80 in 1981 and its advertising tag line was “a great hotel with all kinds of extra touches – like a bathroom phone and remote control color TV”. Another advertising line was “Harley Hotel New York - A great hotel does not have to be expensive.”

The hotel’s bar was called Harry’s Bar and the hotel restaurant was named Mindy’s, Leona’s middle name. The hotel’s insignia was two interlocking H’s – which stood for Harley Hotel and not Helmsley Hotels.

The architect was Emery Roth & Sons who also designed the Helmsley Park Lane in 1971 and the World Trade Center in 1973.

Harry Helmsley was a real estate mogul who built a company that became one of the biggest property holders in the United States. His portfolio at one time included the Empire State Building, the Flatiron and Toy Center buildings on Fifth Avenue.

His hotel portfolio in 1981 included The Helmsley Palace, the Park Lane Hotel, the Harley Middletowne Hotel, the New York Harley, The Harley Windsor Hotel, the St. Moritz and the Carlton House hotels. In 1981 in an attempt to expand outside of New York City Helmsley bought the Hospitality Motor Inn chain from Standard Oil of Ohio for $36 million and renamed it Harley Hotel chain.

In 1989 Leona Helmsley is indicted for tax fraud. She was imprisoned from 1992-1993.

Harry Helmsley dies in 1997, leaving entire estate to Leona.

In 1997 Ritz-Carlton pulled its flag from the Central Park South hotel owned by Saudi Arabian businessman Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim al-Ibrahim leaving the Ritz chain without a hotel in Manhattan. Ritz Carlton looked very hard at acquiring the Helmsley New York. Ritz was prepared to spend millions overhauling the hotel which had not received a significant renovation since opening 18 years earlier.

According to the NY Times, hotel experts say Leona Helmsley was expecting $200 million+ for the property or $250,000 per room – but Ritz Carlton and and also Patriot American balked at that price. The bidders were not willing to pay more than $160 million for a property that needed tens of millions of dollars in renovations some said.

Leona Helmsley decided she was up to the task of turning around the underperforming property. In 1997 it is estimated the New York Helmsley was running 70% occupancy, below the city average of 80%. Some rooms going for as low as $150 a night.

The NY Times quoted hotel experts as saying the Helmsley New York suffered from high management turnover and a lack of affiliation with a national hotel chain. John Fox of PKF Consulting told the NY Times "Nobody knows it's there."

The hotel became the New York Helmsley Hotel following the sale of the Harley Hotel chain in 1998.

Leona Helmsley died in 2007.

In May 2010 the trust managing the estate completed a renovation of the lobby, Harry’s Bar and Mindy’s restaurant – which oddly was named Leona’s after the Queen of Mean.

Zack Zahran, the hotel’s general manager told the NY Times ''Not many people know the name Mindy was the middle name of Leona, we chose to make it Leona's.''

The new menu for Leona’s also created ill feelings with consumers as the menu stated at the bottom “For the high standard of service, a 19 percent gratuity will be applied to your check.” This policy seems to run afoul with the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs.

Executive Chef Brian Wieler designed the new menu and the interiors were done by J/Brice International Design of Boston.

The Trust managing the Leona Helmsley estate told The Real Deal in November 2010 the New York Helmsley Hotel has drawn 15 different bidders – including Tishman Hotel & Realty. The bidding hopefuls made offers exceeding $300 million.

According to HVS the Helmsley New York was sold in January 2011 by the Estate of Leona Helmsley to Host Hotels for $313,500,000 ($405,000 per room)

Upon the change in ownership GM Zack Zahran returned to the Helmsley Park Lane as the General Manager. He is the former Resident Manager and Director of Food and Beverage of the Peninsula New York.

Host Hotels & Resorts expects top flag the hotel under the Westin Hotels & Resorts brand in mid-2012 after an extensive renovation of the 775 guest rooms and upgrade of the meeting place. Host has contracted with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, parent company of Westin, to operate the hotel on a daily basis.