Photos: After 5 Years, the Unpretty Bogart Hotel Takes Reservations in Bushwick

Bogart Hotel at 19 Bogart St., on the border of Bushwick and East Williamsburg, has always been a little bit of a mystery in the neighborhood.

The conspicuously unpretty building grew on Bushwick’s main promenade relatively quickly after the building permits were filed in 2010. But it wasn’t until June 30, 2016 that the hotel welcomed its first guests (the opening date has been provided to Bushwick Daily over the phone by the hotel’s receptionist).

When you walk by the hotel today, you’ll notice the stark lack of not only Brooklyn aesthetics, but of any aesthetic whatsoever. In other words, the hotel is bland. Looking at the photos published by the booking site Hotels.com, the interior of the hotel is just as bland as the outside. 

Perhaps the only interesting thing about the hotel is the cheap, violently flashing signage that reads “Bogat Hotel” [sic] which makes us chuckle every time we pass by.

A night at one of the 56 hotel rooms costs $90, and guests rated the hotel 3.8 out of 5 on TripAdvisor. Some of the reviews mention cigarette smoke in the hallways, some praise the proximity of the hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge (really?!), while most of the people seem to have been mostly satisfied.

According to the public records, the hotel is currently owned by 19 Bogart Realty Development Inc. In 2015 the Real Deal wrote that the owners faced a lawsuit by a prospective buyer, Moshe Oratz. Another lawsuit, this time at the hands of plaintiff Aaron Drazin has been settled in December 2016 as shown by the public records. Other noteworthy details from our research show a foreclosure tax lien filed in the title section of the property, and a foreclosure mortgage on the property in the amount of $5 million.

In any case, Bogart Hotel is operational. Have you or your friends stayed there? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

Cover image: Phil Buehler @pwbuehler