UANI Condemns Warwick Following Ahmadinejad Departure, Calls on All New York City Hotels to Deny Accommodations to Iranian Delegation in Future

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Thursday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) Executive Director, David Ibsen, issued the following statement regarding the Warwick Hotel and its General Manager Drew Schlesinger:

The Warwick Hotel was widely condemned this week and clearly suffered severe reputational harm for its decision to host Ahmadinejad and the Iranian delegation. New Yorkers and other visitors staying at the Warwick were forced to endure repeated disruptions and security complications due to the Warwick’s absurd decision to essentially sublet its hotel to the Iranian regime. The Warwick and Mr. Schlesinger clearly placed profit over principle, yet we expect that the costs to the Warwick in negative publicity, damage to the brand and lost business from an outraged public will ultimately far surpass the revenue collected from the Iranian regime.

No legitimate hotel or venue would willfully subject its guests to repeated searches and pat downs, or create a situation where guests would be physically accosted in the lobby by aggressive Iranian security officers. The Warwick’s greed had other significant ramifications for the public. NYPD and U.S. Secret Service were forced to provide security at the Warwick at significant U.S. taxpayer expense.

We call on all New York City hotels to bear in mind the negative publicity and reputational harm borne by the Warwick as a result of its decision and think twice before accepting any future invitation from Ahmadinejad or other Iranian regime officials.

This week, UANI was headquartered inside the Warwick Hotel, and led demonstrations outside including signs, bicycle and truck billboards, and activities. UANI's campaign has been covered by CNN (here and here), the Associated Press, Reuters, Inside Edition, BTR Pulse, USA TODAY, The Christian Science Monitor, the New York Daily News (here and here), the Times of Israel, PIX 11 News, Fox 5 News, CBN News, CBS 880 Radio, Agence France Presse, 1010 WINS Radio, and the New York Post (here, here, here), as well as by local television stations in Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and radio stations in Georgia, Maryland, and New York.

Click here, here, and here to view photos of UANI’s Warwick protest.
Click here to view UANI’s truck billboard live in Manhattan.
Click here to view a photo of the UANI billboard live in Times Square.
Click here to view the bicycle billboards live at the Warwick.
Click here to send a message to the Warwick.
Click here to learn more about UANI’s Warwick campaign.