Donald Trump

NYC will lose $500M monthly if government shutdown continues

Via Michael Appleton/ Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 18, 2019

NYC will lose $500M monthly if government shutdown continues

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If the federal government shutdown continues into March, the city will lose $500 million monthly, Mayor Bill de Blasio warned Thursday. Without funding for federally funded government programs, more than two million New Yorkers could lose access to vital benefits, including food stamps, Section 8 vouchers, and public school lunch. The shutdown, now the longest in history, began last month after Congress failed to reach an appropriations deal and as President Donald Trump refuses to withdraw his request for a $5.6 billion border wall.
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In 2018, NYC drew a record 65 million tourists—and that number will keep rising

Via CC

January 16, 2019

In 2018, NYC drew a record 65 million tourists—and that number will keep rising

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NYC & Company, the city's tourism and marketing agency, announced on Wednesday that the number of visitors to the city rose to a record high of 65.2 million in 2018, as the New York Times first reported. This is a notable jump up from 2017's 61.4 million and the ninth straight annual increase. Most visitors still come from within the United States, but the number of tourists from China saw an uptick from 1.04 million in 2017 to 1.1 million. The agency was expecting an overall drop in tourism numbers, and particularly from China, due to President Donald Trump's trade battle with the country and "America First" rhetoric, but the industry continues to thrive in the president's hometown.
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Government shutdown could cost MTA $150M per month in federal funds

Via Flickr

January 7, 2019

Government shutdown could cost MTA $150M per month in federal funds

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With each passing month of the partial government shutdown--currently in its third week--the Metropolitan Transportation Authority stands to lose $150 million per month in federal funds, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday. Without funds from Washington, which are allocated for track repair work and construction projects, the MTA may have to cut back service or borrow money, if the shutdown continues. "They can last another four weeks, but after that, [the MTA has] got real trouble," Schumer said during a news conference, as the New York Post reported. "They may have to borrow which would increase their costs. They may have to cut back, which would be a very bad thing."
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Governor Cuomo takes his second tour of the Gateway Tunnel

Via Flickr

December 20, 2018

Governor Cuomo takes his second tour of the Gateway Tunnel

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Last night, Governor Cuomo toured the Gateway Tunnel to survey its levels of corrosion and damage beneath the Hudson River. He was joined by the same experts from Cornell University's College of Engineering and Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science who toured the Canarsie Tunnel last week with the Governor. The purpose of the tour was to provide insight into rehabilitating the Canarsie Tunnel ahead of the L train shutdown. However, the tour may definitely have done double duty as a push to the Trump administration, reiterating the importance of this critical project which won’t be able to go forward without federal support.
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Trump ‘receptive’ to Gateway project, but still no funding agreement reached

Via Gov. Cuomo’s office on Flickr

November 29, 2018

Trump ‘receptive’ to Gateway project, but still no funding agreement reached

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo called his meeting with President Donald Trump "productive," despite not reaching an agreement about the funding of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The two Queens natives met for lunch at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the Gateway project, a plan to fix an existing train tunnel and build a new one, construct two new bridges, and expand Penn Station, estimated to cost $30 billion. "I think it's fair to say the president was receptive to what we were talking about," Cuomo said. But there is no timeline for the project, as the governor noted. "So we are nowhere right now," Cuomo told reporters. "There is no clock ticking because there is no clock."
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Cuomo to meet with Trump over funding for Gateway Tunnel project

Cuomo touring the tunnel in October; photo via governor’s office on Flickr

November 28, 2018

Cuomo to meet with Trump over funding for Gateway Tunnel project

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to discuss funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project, a plan which would fix an existing rail tunnel and build a new one under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York City. In October, Cuomo sent the president a video of the severely damaged, century-old tunnel and called on the Trump administration to fund their share of the project, which is estimated to cost $30 billion. "The Federal Government poses many challenges for the State of New York but one of the top priorities is to replace the Gateway tunnels," Cuomo said in a statement. "These tunnels are Federally owned by the Amtrak Corporation and must be replaced."
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With sales still sluggish, Trump Tower sees only its second deal of the year

Via Krystal T on Flickr

October 22, 2018

With sales still sluggish, Trump Tower sees only its second deal of the year

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A one-bedroom on the 57th floor of Trump Tower closed earlier this month for $1.825 million, marking just the second sale of 2018 at the Midtown building, as Mansion Global first reported. Comparatively, there were seven sales in 2017 and eight in 2016 at the building, developed by President Donald Trump. While the sales slump at Trump Tower reflects a broader decline in sales at luxury properties across Manhattan, politics surrounding the building may also be playing a role.
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Cuomo tours Hudson River tunnel to expose severe damage and calls on Trump for funding

Photo courtesy of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office on Flickr

October 18, 2018

Cuomo tours Hudson River tunnel to expose severe damage and calls on Trump for funding

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans on sending video footage of the damaged tunnel under the Hudson River to Washington to show why federal funds are necessary for the repair project. On late Wednesday night, Cuomo toured the century-old tunnel that was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy and called on President Donald Trump to fund the Gateway Tunnel Project, which includes fixing the existing tunnel and constructing a new tunnel under the river. While President Barack Obama had pledged to split the cost of the $30 billion project, the Trump administration has said it won't contribute federal funds.
See the damage
Trump name finally gets dumped from Upper West Side apartment building at residents’ request

Photo via Nick Normal’s Flickr

October 18, 2018

Trump name finally gets dumped from Upper West Side apartment building at residents’ request

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In May, after a year of resistance from the Trump Organization, a judge ruled that an Upper West Side condo could have the president’s name expunged from the exterior of their 46-story building. Condo owners at 200 Riverside Boulevard voted to remove the bronze letters spelling “TRUMP” on the building, where they have hung for nearly two decades. Today they get their wish as their building joins three neighboring ones in dumping the Trump sign, the New York Times reports. Workers will remove the offending letters from the front and rear facades of 200 Riverside Boulevard; the building will become known merely by its address, like so many others in the city.
Find out how they did it
Trump-run attractions in NYC suffer from declining revenue

Trump-run Wollman Rink via subherwal on Flickr

September 12, 2018

Trump-run attractions in NYC suffer from declining revenue

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Although President Donald Trump continues to profit from his family-run business while serving in office, the New York-native is seeing a drop in revenue in his hometown. At four concessions in New York City run by the Trump Organization, sales have dropped or have been flat since Trump became president, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Even as tourism is on the rise and the city's economy is bustling, business is not booming for two Trump-affiliated ice rinks, a Bronx golf course, and a carousel in Central Park.
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In 1988, Donald Trump wanted to repair the Williamsburg Bridge, but the Mayor said no thanks

Williamsburg Bridge and Donald Trump via Wiki Commons

August 30, 2018

In 1988, Donald Trump wanted to repair the Williamsburg Bridge, but the Mayor said no thanks

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In addition to thinking he could own the Empire State Building and build the tallest building in the world, Donald Trump also had a pipedream of single-handedly repairing the Williamsburg Bridge in 1988. Yesterday, Gothamist's Editorial Director Jen Carlson tweeted a series of stories from the time detailing how the Donald presented the city with a proposition to get the necessary repairs (the then-85-year-old bridge was closed due to cracked and corroded beams) done quicker and cheaper. According to the Associated Press, "Trump said the deal could work the same way as [Central Park's Wollman Rink] construction in 1986 - he would advance the money, get the job done and be reimbursed for costs."
So how'd he screw this one up?
Trump Tower apartment right below the president hits the market for $25M

Photo of Trump via Michael Vadon on Flickr

August 17, 2018

Trump Tower apartment right below the president hits the market for $25M

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You don't need a security clearance to live below the President, but it might still be a challenge for whomever wants to buy the condo right below Donald Trump's Midtown residence. The Post reports that the duplex unit on the 64th and 65th floors of Trump Tower has just hit the market for $24.5 million and sources are saying it "directly adjoins" his bedroom. So how can the administration legally control the buyer? By convincing the condo Board to exercise a board waiver and buy the apartment themselves, according to the Post. And this may just work; a recent Business Insider investigation into a mysterious $1.5 million apartment Melania bought in the building shows that this was the only unit the Board had ever bought.
See inside
‘Baby Trump’ blimp is coming to NJ

Donald Trump is a big baby and full of hot air. Image courtesy of Michael Reeve via Flickr.

July 17, 2018

‘Baby Trump’ blimp is coming to NJ

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If you followed the protests that accompanied President Donald Trump's visit to London and Scotland last week, you may have noticed a giant, inflatable, diaper-clad version of the POTUS floating above. Now, thanks to a New Jersey activist and a successful GoFundMe page, the irascible dirigible will be gracing our shores next month, Gothamist reports. The big blimp is headed across the pond and is expected to rise near Trump's Bedminster, NJ golf club in August.
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City says Trump can’t claim $48K tax break on his NYC apartment
July 6, 2018

City says Trump can’t claim $48K tax break on his NYC apartment

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New York City has said no to a $48,000 break President Trump has been receiving on the annual tax bill for his Trump Tower condo after inquiries by the Daily News into his eligibility. The News reports that the city says the president was set to get $48,834.62 knocked off his condo taxes for the tax year beginning July 1 via the city's condominium abatement, which is available for condo and co-op owners on their primary residence. Tax rules state that only “the dwelling unit in which the owner of the dwelling unit actually resides and maintains a permanent and continuous physical presence” is eligible for the savings, and Trump hasn't kept a “permanent and continuous physical presence” in the Midtown pad since he moved to the White House in January of 2017.
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Michael Cohen’s inlaws list three condos at Trump World Tower amid legal battle
June 18, 2018

Michael Cohen’s inlaws list three condos at Trump World Tower amid legal battle

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Photo of Michael Cohen via Wikimedia; listing photo via Trump International Realty As President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, faces mounting legal fees, his family is looking to sell three condominium units at a 72-story Trump building in Manhattan. Bloomberg reported Friday that Cohen's father-in-law Fima Shusterman wants to sell three apartments he owns in Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza. Just two of the units are listed on the Trump International Realty website: a three-bedroom unit, 57B, for $6.7 million and a two-bedroom unit, 42A, for $4.5 million. Not listed but still for sale, the family's 43rd-floor apartment was purchased in 2003 for $1.85 million, but the current price is not yet known.
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52 years ago, Donald Trump’s father demolished Coney Island’s beloved Steeplechase Park

Steeplechase Park circa 1930-45, via Digital Commonwealth

May 14, 2018

52 years ago, Donald Trump’s father demolished Coney Island’s beloved Steeplechase Park

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Steeplechase Park was the first of Coney Island's three original amusement parks (in addition to Luna Park and Dreamland) and its longest lasting, operating from 1897 to 1964. It had a Ferris Wheel modeled after that of Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition, a mechanical horse race course (from which the park got its name), scale models of world landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben, "Canals of Venice," the largest ballroom in the state, and the famous Parachute Jump, among other rides and attractions. After World War II, Coney Island's popularity began to fade, especially when Robert Moses made it his personal mission to replace the resort area's amusements with low-income, high-rise residential developments. But ultimately, it was Fred Trump, Donald's father, who sealed Steeplechase's fate, going so far as to throw a demolition party when he razed the site in 1966 before it could receive landmark status.
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Michael Cohen puts up $9M Trump Park Avenue apartment as collateral against bank debt

Photo of Michael Cohen via Wikimedia; image of Trump Park Avenue via Google Earth

May 9, 2018

Michael Cohen puts up $9M Trump Park Avenue apartment as collateral against bank debt

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Michael Cohen, the longtime attorney for President Donald Trump, has put up his family's Park Avenue apartment as collateral against a bank loan worth millions of dollars. The bank valued Cohen's condo, fittingly at Trump Park Avenue in Lenox Hill, for $9 million. The financially troubled lawyer is putting his apartment against $12.8 million in loans he took out for his taxi business in 2014. Cohen secured these loans by New York City taxi medallions, which have dropped in value by 80 percent due to the growth of ride-sharing services, according to Bloomberg.
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Trump could get over $30M from sale of a Brooklyn affordable housing complex he partially owns
May 9, 2018

Trump could get over $30M from sale of a Brooklyn affordable housing complex he partially owns

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Starrett City photo via Matt Green on Flickr, President Trump photo via Wikimedia As he proposes funding cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's subsidized housing programs, President Donald Trump is set to gain millions of dollars from the sale of an affordable housing complex in East New York, best known as Starrett City. Investors, including Trump who owns a 4 percent stake in the development, sold the 46-building complex to two real estate firms for $906 million, ABC News reported Tuesday. Trump is set to profit about $36 million from the sale (an amount which could drop after mortgage costs and transfer taxes). Home to roughly 15,000 residents across 145 acres, Starrett City is the largest federally subsidized housing project in the country.
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Judge rules Upper West Side condo can remove Trump’s name from its building
May 3, 2018

Judge rules Upper West Side condo can remove Trump’s name from its building

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Photo via Nick Normal’s Flickr Following year-long resistance from the Trump Organization, a judge ruled on Thursday that an Upper West Side condo could remove the president's name from the exterior of the 46-story building, according to the New York Times. Condo owners at 200 Riverside Boulevard will now be able to vote on whether to keep or remove the bronze letters spelling "TRUMP" on the building, where they have hung for nearly two decades. The ruling comes after board members at Trump Place asked a judge in January to issue a declaratory judgment that the condo has the right to either keep or remove the letters without violating its licensing agreement. On Thursday, Justice Eileen Bransten said removing letters does not violate the agreement.
More details here
May 2, 2018

7 chances to live across from Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, from $1,600/month

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A newly constructed rental in the Bronx has launched a lottery for seven middle-income apartments, located across from the city's largest public park, Pelham Bay Park. The park measures over three times the size of Central Park and includes two golf courses, miles of hiking trails, many fields and courts and Orchard Beach, a man-made beach designed by Robert Moses. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for three one-bedrooms for $1,600/month and four two-bedrooms for $1,800/month.
Find out if you qualify
Trump Organization will fight ‘rogue individuals’ who want the president’s name shed from UWS condo

Photo via Nick Normal’s Flickr

April 24, 2018

Trump Organization will fight ‘rogue individuals’ who want the president’s name shed from UWS condo

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In February of 2017, residents of Trump Place at 200 Riverside Boulevard voted to remove "TRUMP" from the condo building's exterior. Neighboring buildings found at 140, 160, and 180 Riverside Boulevard had already successfully removed his name, following a petition with hundreds of signatures. However, the 48-story condo at Trump Place, located on the Upper West Side, has not moved forward with the removal of the president's name because the Trump Organization threatened to sue. In response to this threat, board members in January asked a judge to issue a declaratory judgment that the condo has the right to either keep or remove the letters without violating its licensing agreement. The president's son, Eric Trump, who serves as a trustee of the organization, promised on Monday to "fight vehemently against rogue individuals" who want to remove the name (h/t West Side Rag).
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Trump once lobbied against legislation that required sprinklers in NYC high-rises

Via Krystal T’s Flickr

April 9, 2018

Trump once lobbied against legislation that required sprinklers in NYC high-rises

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Following back-to-back fatal fires in 1998 at two New York City buildings that lacked working sprinklers, public officials advocated for new regulations requiring sprinklers in all buildings. Mayor Rudy Giuliani's administration that year pushed for legislation to address the lack of sprinklers in high-rise towers. But real estate developers, including President Donald Trump, fought against the proposals, citing the high expense of retrofitting existing buildings with them, as the Washington Post reported. After fierce lobbying from developers, including Trump who personally called a dozen council members, the city enacted a law in 1999 that would require sprinklers in new construction but not existing buildings, exempting the president's Trump Tower. On Saturday, a fire ripped through a 50th-floor apartment at Trump Tower, killing a 67-year-old art dealer. Sprinklers were never installed at the Fifth Avenue property.
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Vornado says it reached a deal with Kushner Cos. to sell 666 Fifth Avenue stake

Google Street View of 666 Fifth Avenue

April 9, 2018

Vornado says it reached a deal with Kushner Cos. to sell 666 Fifth Avenue stake

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Update 4/9/18: Vornado announced on Friday that it reached a "handshake" deal to sell its stake at 666 Fifth Avenue back to the Kushner Cos, according to the New York Times. It remains unclear if the Kushners have found a new partner. Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado, in the filing, said the payment would cover the company's investment: "The existing loan will be repaid including payment to us of the portion of the debt we hold." Kushner Cos. said this week it is in talks to buy the remaining 49.5 percent stake in 666 Fifth Avenue from Vornado Realty Trust, furthering the drama at the 41-story Midtown Manhattan office building, according to the Wall Street Journal. The tower has remained one of Kushner Cos. most financially troubled projects. In addition to its debt and high rates of vacancy, the building has been mired in controversy, mostly due to Jared Kushner's role as a senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump. While Jared divested in the property to avoid conflicts of interest, investors have been reluctant from entering a deal with Kushner Cos.
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Owners of Donald Trump’s former Connecticut mansion try to unload it again for $45M
April 2, 2018

Owners of Donald Trump’s former Connecticut mansion try to unload it again for $45M

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It looks like it's not just owners within Trump-branded condo buildings who are struggling to sell their homes, but the owners of individual homes with connections to the President, too. In 1998, financier Robert Steinberg and his wife Suzanne paid $15 million for this 5.8-acre Greenwich, Connecticut estate on its own peninsula. It was previously owned by a then-Democratic Donald Trump and his wife Ivana, but when they divorced in 1991, she kept the mansion. Likely not realizing what was yet to come, the Steinbergs first listed the home in early January 2016 for $54 million, dropping the price to $45 million in May. But according to the Wall Street Journal, when Trump's campaign "started heating up," they took the listing down. Although the fire has only grown, they've now decided to try again.
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