Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Jane Hotel Guest Confronted By the Dead
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 3, 2009
Modified Nov 3, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 3, 2009
Modified Nov 3, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Jane Hotel can't seem to keep anyone happy! The neighbors have already led a crusade to get their club shut down, and now a recent paying customer at the hotel has quite a story about his stay there—which he tells on his blog, in a post titled I Smell Dead People.
First up, he noticed an odd smell which was explained by various hotel workers as pretty much everything except a dead person. Eventually he says he "finally recognized it: something dead. Something very big and very dead." This was finally confirmed when he spotted a Police Department D.O.A. notice. It was allegedly for an older man who lived in one of the rent-controlled, unrenovated rooms from when the hotel was an SRO.
Instead of being upset about breathing in the stench of death, however, he waxed poetic about the experience, saying, "Ask me my biggest fear, and I’ll tell you straight up, it would be to live and die alone, without love. Some poor guy went to bed and didn’t wake up, and nobody even noticed until the smell got out of hand. I hope you’ve moved on, to somewhere with someone who cares about checking in from time to time." [via Curbed]
Tagged
death
doa
jane hotel
resident
SOA
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
ICE agent shoots, injures immigrant man in NYC's Marble Hill, DHS says
The agency says the man is alive and hospitalized.
By
Giulia Heyward
and
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 8, 2026 at 5:33 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 8, 2026 at 10:32 p.m. ET
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
A pilot found that drivers actually complied with alternate-side less when fewer days were in effect.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
A pilot found that drivers actually complied with alternate-side less when fewer days were in effect.
By
Liam Quigley
Jersey City mayor shakes up staff amid $255M budget gap
By
Michael Sol Warren
Bronx residents will be exempt from new Medicaid work rule, state officials say
By
Caroline Lewis
MTA chair accuses Andy Byford, who's leading Penn Station rebuild, of going 'full MAGA'
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Carol Chen
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .