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Notable Neighbors

OCTOBER 27, 2011

The most notable neighbors may not be among the living; Some of the city’s famous residents of long ago may not be far away.

The Chelsea Hotel is legendary for its past—and passed—guests, some of whom are said to haunt its rooms. The presence of troubled punk duo Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungeon has been reported on numerous occasions in the official “Sid & Nancy” room, and some claim that Sid haunts the elevator. Other lost Chelsea spirits are said to include poet Dylan Thomas and playwright Eugene O’Neill. Judy Garland’s ghost is said to appear on occasion near a stage door at the Palace Theater. It’s no surprise that Round Table regular and sharp-tongued wordsmith Dorothy Parker still makes her presence known at the Algonquin Hotel by scaring young visitors (syfy.com). Heading even further back in the city’s history, Thomas Jefferson’s vice president Aaron Burr’s daughter is said to haunt the One If By Land, Two If By Sea restaurant in the West Village, which occupies the former site of Burr’s carriage house.

The ghost of privacy-loving screen star Greta Garbo may not be in evidence, but an apartment at 459 East 52nd Street in the elegant pre-war Campanile in Sutton Place, where the actress lived for 50 years, is on the market for $5,750,000. The co-op, at nearly 5,000 square feet including 6,000 square feet of outdoor space, definitely resembles a Hollywood hideaway fit for a silver screen siren (CurbedNY).