Eviction fear grips Chelsea

Chelsea Hotel residents are praying for a merciful landlord as hoteliers bid on the fabled prop erty. Half of the rooms at the Chel sea, known for its literary and mu sic-world residents, are rented to tenants who fear eviction by the next owner. It’s up for sale for $100 million and rival hotel iers Andre Balazs and Ian Schrager have been spotted walking through. Sources tell us several bids are in but no deal has been struck. “Management has already been whittling down the tenants,” a source said. “They would go in there and get building permits to renovate the rooms and then make them hotel rooms. They aren’t giv ing out long-term leases.” One source pre dicted that the only way to avoid a lawsuit by tenants is to offer them cash. “It’s a complicated deal,” said the insider. “The building needs so much work. It’s going to cost a fortune to overhaul.” One resident said, “Everyone is very uneasy. We don’t know what our fate is.”