Protest Outside Waverly Inn Spotlights Alleged "Slumlords"

Permanent residents of the The Jane Hotel in the West Village say conditions at the shabby-chic reinvention of the old Hotel Riverview are so horrid that they've no choice but to picket outside the landlords' other establishments, which include celebrity favorite The Waverly Inn. On Wednesday night they made quite a scene outside the restaurant, and apparently won the sympathy of Hugh Jackman. The Post reports that as they chanted "Slumlords!" and "Rats!" outside, Jackman approached them to talk. Looking at photos depicting the dilapidated conditions at The Jane, he reportedly gasped, "Oh, my God." Diane von Furstenberg also showed some pity, asking, "Who are the slumlords?" That would be Eric Goode and Sean McPherson, who also run the Bowery Hotel, where the group protested last night over what publicist Ronn Torossian, their representative, calls "appalling conditions. Rats run [around] daily, asbestos lingers and 99 complaints have been filed in recent months with city housing authorities."