Press Release Archives #400-98 - Mayor Giuliani Cuts Ribbon at the Opening of the New Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel

Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, August 20, 1998

Release #400-98

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958
Curt Ritter (212) 788-2971

MAYOR GIULIANI CUTS RIBBON AT THE OPENING OF THE NEW FITZPATRICK GRAND CENTRAL HOTEL

$27 Million Hotel Is The First To Open In The Grand Central District In 15 Years

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and John Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group, today cut a ribbon officially opening the Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel, the first new hotel to open in the Grand Central District in 15 Years. The $27 million 155-room hotel is located across from Grand Central Station at 141 East 44th Street and Lexington Avenue. The Mayor was also joined by Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Angela's Ashes, and Anna Manahan, who won a Tony Award this year for her work in the current Broadway hit, The Beauty Queen of Leenane.

"Thanks to the Fitzpatrick Group's continued commitment and confidence in our City, this new hotel shows how foreign investors are beginning to take notice of New York City's dramatic turnaround," said Mayor Giuliani. "The Fitzpatrick Grand Central will be the third hotel in New York City that bears the Irish Fitzpatrick Group of Hotels flag and will evoke the same Irish charm and spirit that helped to build our City.

Located at 141 East 44th Street, across from Grand Central Station, the Fitzpatrick Grand Central, a 10-story, 75,000-square-foot hotel, will include 155 rooms and will feature all of the most modern conveniences, with an added element of Irish charm. The Hotel includes the Wheeltapper, an Irish and railroad theme pub built in and shipped from Ireland. Rates are expected to range from $245 for guestrooms, to $295 for suites. The new hotel will create 100 permanent jobs.

"It is an honor for me and the Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel team to have Mayor Giuliani open our second hotel in this grand city, a property which is also the first new hotel in the Grand Central district in 15 years," said John Fitzpatrick, CEO of the Fitzpatrick Family Group of Hotels. " The hotel is in a prime location for business and leisure travelers being located across the street from Grand Central Station and in walking distance to Fifth Avenue shopping, Broadway theaters, and the United Nations. The Mayor has done a superb job of cleaning up Times Square and it's very exciting for us to benefit from the restoration of the landmark Grand Central Station."

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