New Gowanus hotel revs up for rivalry

Them’s fighting words! The owner of an upcoming boutique Gowanus hotel has opened up to the Brooklyn Paper about his new product, and took the opportunity to make a few public jabs at his soon-to-be rivals. Alec Shtromandel, who is opening the Union Hotel on Degraw Street between Third and Fourth avenues next month, forecasted that his inevitable success will cut into profits at the nearby Hotel Le Bleu. “Design-wise, there is a lot to be desired there,” Shtromandel said of the Hotel Le Bleu. “We have beautiful reclaimed artisanal brick and art deco finishes. We are smaller, but nevertheless there is a personal touch that Le Bleu seems to be lacking.” (John Tichacek, general manager of the Le Bleu, said he’s “not sure he can judge us without knowing anything about us”). The 43-room Union Hotel, which is also near the Holiday Inn Express on Union Street and Fourth Avenue, the Comfort Inn on Butler and Nevins streets and the planned Fairfield Inn at Third Avenue and Douglass Street, will feature a rooftop beer garden that’s set to open this summer. Room rates will range from $129 to $200 per night, and Shtromandel said he expects the planned Barclays Center to ultimately attract tourists to the area next year. [Brooklyn Paper]