The Stern Opportunity

Ask a native New Yorkers about "Chumley's" and you will likely get a slow smile with a nostalgic nod. The former speak-easy was established in 1926 and served as a gathering place for generations of writers, poets, activists, and indeed, NYU students . . . that is, if they could find it. Set back from a tree lined corner in the West Village, with a small unmarked door at the end of an interior garden serving as its entrance, this storied pub gave the likes of Faulkner, Hemingway, and Steinbeck a cozy escape from the city - and the Prohibition.

The first time I walked across that dark, quiet garden and approached the small wooden door, I was certain I had reached a dead end. How wrong I was. Turning the knob, I stepped into a large and lively space, with beamed ceilings and warm musky air dampening the sounds of spirited conversations and clinking glasses. Over the years I grew rather fond of Chumley's . . . its unique regulars, its hearty food, its grand fireplace. It wasn't where one went to celebrate, but rather to reflect on life with like-minded company. Its very name felt most aptly uttered in a hushed tone, as if not to reveal a cherished secret.

 I was shocked and saddened when I read in April 2007 that Chumley's aging chimney had buckled and collapsed, effectively closing down the pub for good. I had no idea that the collapse was only latest - and most visible - in a series of dramatic events following turnaround artist Margaret Streicker-Porres' 2004 acquisition of Chumley's and the buildings immediately surrounding it. But the details of those events remained a mystery to me until a few weeks ago, when Mrs. Porres, a close friend of Pauline Oudin (MBA, 2011), generously offered to give the Stern Real Estate Club several hours of her time and an exclusive tour of the famous site.

The day's events began with a presentation at Stern, in which a very pregnant Mrs. Porres explained the complexities of this particular project. Rehabilitating old buildings in NYC is never easy, but compounding the challenge in this case was a landmark status, change-averse local residents, an ancient and shaky structural foundation (pre-dating the use of engineering documentation), and even a river tributary that apparently runs under this cluster of buildings. The year 2007 - when the chimney collapsed - had Mrs. Porres enduring irreconcilable pressures from multiple agencies and groups while hacking through endless bureaucratic red tape and, oh yeah, going into labor with her second child while at the scene of the collapse. (Her daughter was born later that same evening.) But she described all this to her fascinated listeners with a professional detachment, the hallmark of a tenacious entrepreneur. Donning hard hats and thick coats, the 27 students then defied the well below-freezing temperature and accompanied Mrs. Porres to the corner of Bedford & Barrow. As she patiently explained how many city agencies she had had to make nice with on this turnaround project - DOB, FDNY, HPD, LPC, DOT to name a few - we gazed upon the site of what had once been Chumley's. My heart sank: I had been hoping that at least some semblance of that charming watering hole still remained; instead, it was now just a hole with a few relics left to remind those of us who passed through what the site had once been.. The barren dirt excavation stared unapologetically back at us. Weary from the years of her life devoted to this turnaround, Mrs. Porres' voice seemed tired, but on this especially sunny day, her eyes still sparkled with enthusiasm as she described her plan to rebuild the pub and its surrounding buildings, while preserving as many genuine historic elements as possible. As we made our way through a mixture of mid-way construction sites and still dilapidated labyrinths of former living quarters, a solemn quietness descended upon the group. Some of the wooden beams still bore the insignia from the British ships that had been their original use, before they were torn apart and repurposed as building materials. This rickety space had witnessed entire life spans of unknown strangers, people who had called this their home and had built their lives within and around it. Now, well beyond inhabitable, and only partially towards becoming a rebuilt structure, its future rests in Mrs. Porres' hands. With a strong track record of successful turnarounds - including the renowned Spotted Pig just a few blocks away - I am optimistic in the fate of this fabled site. Nevertheless, it will take several more years of complicated construction as well as placating the plethora of city agencies involved before this worthy project is completed.

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