8. The Church of Reverend Moon Owns the New Yorker Hotel

Wyndham operates the New Yorker Hotel but the building is owned by the Unification Church, the religious group founded by Reverend Sun Myung Moon. “The Moonies,” as they are nicknamed, purchased the building in 1976 for $5 million, after the hotel itself closed in 1972 during the peak of financial troubles in New York City. The Moonies used the building as a headquarters and for housing.

On July 1st, 1982 a mass-wedding of over 4,000 people took place inside the Grand Ballroom of the New Yorker Hotel. The contracts between strangers from within the church, assigned together by Revered Moon, were drawn up in the ballroom, and the ceremony took place in Madison Square Garden, officiated by Moon.

Where the Ticktock Diner is, says Kinney, has always been a restaurant establishment since its inception.