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If nothing else is known about Storme (pronounced "stormy") DeLaviere, including her childhood or her family background, what is known is that she made her mark upon New York nightlife and the Gay Liberation movement, in ways no other had ever achieved. Raw-boned, wiry and a light-skinned Black woman who was also a proud Lesbian with a no-nonsense attitude as well as tremendous charisma and star quality, and an extremely-impressive baritone singing voice,Storme became a legend in downtown circles when she became the first "drag king" of renown in 1960, at the famed Jewel Box Revue, where she was the only woman to cross-dress and perform among a stellar cast of men, who would do the same as women. News of her act spread like wildfire among seekers of alternative arts, and for over three decades it wasn't unusual to see Storme out and about at such clubs as The Dutchess, Kelly's, Henrietta Hudson, Crazy Nanny's, DT's Fat Cat and many others, where she'd work as a bouncer or a barkeep. In 1978, she managed to get herself a rent-controlled apartment at the Hotel Chelsea on West 23rd Street. The Chelsea is prestigious real estate unto itself for many reasons, besides simply location; it was known as the home-away from home for such luminaries as Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin, was the permanent home of Virgil Thomson and, on a sad note, the place where punk-rocker Sid Vicious stabbed girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death in 1978.
And then, not long ago, the war began.
According to an inside source, after a recent corporate takeover of the hotel, the new owners set out on a serious mission to remove those leaseholders who maintained rent-control in order to make more room for overnight guests. This was to be done by any means possible, whether as benign as simply talking a tenant into leaving or actually as malignant as other possibly extreme inappropriate tactics. Benign or malignant, a tumor had taken over the Hotel Chelsea, and one of its first and most affected victims was Storme. According to our source (who had also been threatened bodily to leave the rent-controlled space they'd occupied for years, hence their wish for anonymity, herein), another neighbor who owed thousands in back rent as was being faced with eviction immediately set about petitioning that Storme DeLaviere was mentally unstable and/or drug-ridden. Those who know her also know full well that nothing on God's earth could be further from the truth; however, said neighbor apparently not only got their wish but also managed to remain within the good graces of the new corporate management of the hotel. DeLaviere was soon placed into St. Vincent's psychiatric ward by City Services, all of her possessions at the Chelsea were tossed into the street, and when it was announced that St. Vincent's would, in turn, be closing its doors, she was relocated to the Oxford Nursing Home in Downtown Brooklyn, at 144 South Oxford Street, where today, according to our source, she is literally being kept sedated and held against her will.
Of course, much of Storme DeLaviere's abundance of fans has thinned somewhat
since those glory days of 1960. But surely there must be a benevolent person or persons, or greater organization, that would be willing to step in and insure that she's once again given a happy home somewhere in this city, in a space free from controversy. Photos by a neighbor of hers have been provided to me along with a magazine spread that was done of her in 1960, and the contrast between the two is unnecessarily shocking. While this humble writer would never asked directly for any sort of financial contribution towards helping a woman like this (plus she'd probably not only loathe the idea, but want to corner me in a dark alley for suggesting such a thing, which is a fight I'd never want since I'm certain she would win), I'm merely asking all who are reading this to please keep Storme in your thoughts and prayers, and if by some chance anyone can up with a solution, I'm sure all of us would be most grateful.
And then, not long ago, the war began.
According to an inside source, after a recent corporate takeover of the hotel, the new owners set out on a serious mission to remove those leaseholders who maintained rent-control in order to make more room for overnight guests. This was to be done by any means possible, whether as benign as simply talking a tenant into leaving or actually as malignant as other possibly extreme inappropriate tactics. Benign or malignant, a tumor had taken over the Hotel Chelsea, and one of its first and most affected victims was Storme. According to our source (who had also been threatened bodily to leave the rent-controlled space they'd occupied for years, hence their wish for anonymity, herein), another neighbor who owed thousands in back rent as was being faced with eviction immediately set about petitioning that Storme DeLaviere was mentally unstable and/or drug-ridden. Those who know her also know full well that nothing on God's earth could be further from the truth; however, said neighbor apparently not only got their wish but also managed to remain within the good graces of the new corporate management of the hotel. DeLaviere was soon placed into St. Vincent's psychiatric ward by City Services, all of her possessions at the Chelsea were tossed into the street, and when it was announced that St. Vincent's would, in turn, be closing its doors, she was relocated to the Oxford Nursing Home in Downtown Brooklyn, at 144 South Oxford Street, where today, according to our source, she is literally being kept sedated and held against her will.
Of course, much of Storme DeLaviere's abundance of fans has thinned somewhat
since those glory days of 1960. But surely there must be a benevolent person or persons, or greater organization, that would be willing to step in and insure that she's once again given a happy home somewhere in this city, in a space free from controversy. Photos by a neighbor of hers have been provided to me along with a magazine spread that was done of her in 1960, and the contrast between the two is unnecessarily shocking. While this humble writer would never asked directly for any sort of financial contribution towards helping a woman like this (plus she'd probably not only loathe the idea, but want to corner me in a dark alley for suggesting such a thing, which is a fight I'd never want since I'm certain she would win), I'm merely asking all who are reading this to please keep Storme in your thoughts and prayers, and if by some chance anyone can up with a solution, I'm sure all of us would be most grateful.
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