Ian Schrager Wants to Democratize Luxury—Again

The return of boutique hotel Public is about appealing to unique NYC sensibilities over generic ostentation

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The thought of a New York hotel being premised on “affordable luxury,” making it “open to all,” sounds like a contradiction in terms (at best) or empty marketing speak (at worst).

But when real estate developer and hotelier Ian Schrager expresses this concept in his gravelly New York rasp, it not only sounds genuine; it kind of makes sense. Granted, we’re speaking relatively, within the context of the Lower East Side’s chic hot spots—like Schrager’s Public hotel—as opposed to the century-old tenements on the other side of Chrystie Street.

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