Flatiron building occupants unhappy about hotel plans

The triangular-shaped landmark Flatiron building on 23rd Street at the junction of Broadway and Fifth Avenue has long been a mainstay, both for the people who work there and those who live nearby. Despite the fact that its current design is less than ideal for an office environment — with bathrooms on alternating floors and awkwardly shaped spaces ill-suited for modern furniture — an Italian developer’s idea to convert the building to a luxury hotel has been met with opposition from those who work there, the New York Times reported. “Everyone will be dragged kicking and screaming from here,” said Airie Stuart, publisher of Palgrave, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers, which rents most of the building. Stuart, like many of her co-workers, has a special allegiance to the 180,000-square-foot Flatiron. Though it is hard to configure office space in a triangle, she said, “the charm makes up for it.” [NYT]