Princeton Club of New York

The Princeton Club of New York, originally a private clubhouse located at 15 West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, was founded in 1866 as the Princeton Alumni Association of New York. It reorganized to its final namesake in 1886. Its membership composed of alumni and faculty of Princeton University, as well as 15 other affiliated schools.

Princeton Club of New York
SuccessorMerged into Penn Club of New York[1][2]
FormationDecember 12, 1866 (1866-12-12)
TypePrivate Club
Legal statusSocial and recreational club
Location
Region served
New York metropolitan area
General Manager
Jason Pallen
AffiliationsColumbia University Club of New York (in-residence at Penn Club following residential agreement issues)[3][4]
Williams College Club of New York (in-residence at Penn Club following closure)[2]
Websitewww.princetonclub.com

In 2021, the club defaulted on its $40 million mortgage debt and was sued for foreclosure on the property.[5][6][7]

History

The club was founded as the Princeton Alumni Association of New York in 1866. In 1886, it reorganized as the Princeton Club of New York, incorporating as a club under New York laws on December 12, 1899.[8][9] Since its incorporation, the club has had four homes, with its current location being at 15 West 43rd Street in Manhattan since February 1963.[10]

After the Penn Club (est. 1901) became the first alumni clubhouse to join Clubhouse Row for inter-club events at 30 West 44th Street [11] after Harvard Club of New York City (est. 1888) at 27 West 44th, then New York Yacht Club (est. 1899) at 37 West 44th, and Yale Club of New York City (est. 1915) on East 44th (and Vanderbilt) and Cornell Club of New York (est. 1989) at 6 East 44th on the same block, Princeton joined in 1963 at 15 West 43rd (the only alumni clubhouse who wasn't on 44th Street and since merged into Penn Club).[1][2] Despite being in New York City, Columbia University Club of New York (est. 1901) left Princeton after residence agreement issues[4][3] to become in-residence at The Penn Club, while Dartmouth shares the Yale Club, and Brown shares the Cornell Club.

The club suffered during the COVID pandemic and shut down for 15 months and lost about one-third of its fees-paying members.[12] In October 2021, the club defaulted on $39.3 million in mortgage debt from lender Sterling National Bank, and as a result, the building is in the process of being sold to the highest bidder.[6][7] In December 2021, 15 West 43rd Street LLC purchased the defaulted loan from Sterling National Bank and in June 2022 the LLC sued to foreclose on the property.[5] Unlike other alumni clubs on Clubhouse Row, the organization has no financial relation to Princeton University.[6][12] The club members, part of the staff, and the in-residence club, Williams College, have since been absorbed into the Penn Club of New York following a previous visiting reciprocity agreement between the Princeton-Penn Clubs.[1][2]

Amenities

The ten-story club featured a variety of amenities for its members, including two restaurants, banquet space, a fitness center, squash courts, and 58 guest rooms.[6][13] The club featured 9,000 square feet (840 m2), where it hosted events throughout the year for its members.[13]

Membership

Membership in the Princeton Club was restricted to alumni, faculty, and students of Princeton University, as well as 15 other affiliated schools.[14] Per the club's shuttered website, it served over 6,000 alumni.[13]

Since its creation, other schools' clubs had moved in-residence, such as Columbia University in 1998[3] and Williams College in 2010.[15] The Columbia University Club of New York later moved out in 2017 because of issues with the residence agreement,[3][4] and along with Princeton Club of New York and Williams College, make three schools to move in-residence at the nearby 30 West 44th Street home of the Penn Club, after Princeton Club's various mismanagement.[3][1][4][2]

See also

References
  1. Chao, Eveline (January 7, 2022). "It Wasn't Just the Pandemic That Closed the Princeton Club". Curbed. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  2. https://williamsrecord.com/461779/news/williams-club-in-new-york-moves-to-penn-club-building/
  3. Skelding, Conor (August 4, 2016). "Columbia, Princeton clubs at impasse over residence agreement". Politico. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  4. "The Columbia Club's New Home". Columbia College Today. July 5, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  5. Monahan, Shea (2022-06-09). "Creditor Files to Foreclose on Princeton Club's Midtown Home". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  6. Boyle, Matthew (October 20, 2021). "Princeton Club of NYC on Life Support After Defaulting on Mortgage". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  7. Kagan, Sam; Opperman, Lia (October 27, 2021). "Princeton Club of New York defaults on mortgage". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  8. Club Men of New York: Their Occupations, and Business and Home Addresses: Sketches of Each of the Organizations: College Alumni Associations. New York: Republic Press. 1902. p. 29. OCLC 8726209.
  9. Mellby, Julie (2 February 2016). "Princeton Club of New York City". Graphic Arts. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  10. Leitch, Alexander (1978). A Princeton Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 378. ISBN 978-0-691-04654-9. JSTOR j.ctt13x0zx2.
  11. Slatin, Peter (May 9, 1993). "Penn's Racing to Join Clubhouse Row". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  12. Boyle, Matthew (6 February 2023). "NYC's Shuttered Princeton Club Lands in Tussle Over Trademark Name". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  13. "PCNY - Princeton Club - New York, NY". The Princeton Club of New York. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  14. "Associate Schools - Princeton Club - New York, NY". The Princeton Club of New York. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  15. "Wms. Club Operations Move to Princeton Club". Williams Magazine. Summer 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
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