STAR LOUNGE

Developers like Donald Trump and chocolatiers like Alison Nelson aren't the only ones eyeballing real estate in Dubai.

New York magazine reports that at least two Manhattan nightlife impressarios, Pink Elephant owner Josh Kaiser and Star Lounge proprietor Charles Ferri, are both planning to open new posh boites in the emirate.

In fact, I spoke with Mr. Ferri back in May about his Middle Eastern aspirations:

"Dubai is super important right now," he said. "We're looking to do a big, big club out there. They're basically flying me out there for a month."

The new venue would be located in a hotel, he added -- one of the few types of places the emirate permits booze.

It's often said that the ghost of Sid Vicious hangs out around the first-floor elevator at the Chelsea Hotel. Current resident Ed Hamilton may have also spotted the spectre of Thomas Wolfe.

Today's Daily News adds a new twist to the hotel's haunted lore:

Swanky Star Lounge, located in the hotel's basement, has lately seen a rash of strange events, including an unexplained power outage.

After sawing through the ceiling, workers reached a tangle of wiring that had been rearranged.

"We had to cut the drywall to get to these wires, and they were switched," says [owner Charles] Ferri. "How could anyone even get to these wires? It's still a mystery."

The incident prompted Ferri, a skeptic, to reexamine a string of odd happenings. Lights had routinely flicked on and off. Odd noises could sometimes be heard from the bar's back-room office, but ceased upon inspection. Once, the furniture in the locked lounge was rearranged overnight.

A visiting self-proclaimed psychic told Ferri that she sensed the presence of an older woman in the bar.

"If they bought enough bottles," Mr. Ferri said of the phantoms, "I would for sure let them have the space."