Donald Trump’s NYC Properties Owe the City $27K in Unpaid Fines
Donald Trump‘s fellow Republican presidential candidates have been focused on him releasing tax documents, but since he claims he’s not in the position to do so since he’s been audited, this little tidbit might make for some good temporary fodder — Trump’s luxury Manhattan properties owe the city for 19 unpaid violations that have amounted to $27,536 over the past 12 years.
I Quant NY scoured the city’s building records to find that since 2000, at least 14 of his Manhattan properties have received 460 separate violations, totaling $304,165 in fines. Sure this may be a drop in the bucket for the GOP frontrunner, but it’s the lack of compliance that seems troubling, especially since only 6 percent of the instances were dismissed. And 2015 had the most violations to date, with 62 separate fines for “Failure to Maintain an Elevator.”
Trump’s violations with balances still due
Payment for a violation is typically due 10 days after a hearing, but Trump has outstanding fines dating back to 2004. Most of these unpaid violations are for “Failure to Submit an Annual Test Report for a Backflow Preventer,” which is a device that “prevents contaminated water or chemicals from flowing back into the drinking water supply if there is a sudden or unexpected change in water pressure.”
Violations by year (L); Violations breakdown (R)
The charts above show how the total sum of paid violations have broken down since 2000. After “Failure to Maintain Elevator,” the four most common issues were all from the FDNY and related to inspections, fire protection systems, documentation, and signs/notices.
Looking at the elevator violations specifically, the GM Building and Empire State Building have been the worst offenders. Interestingly, Trump sold these properties shortly after getting hit with the fines. I Quant NY also notes that the violations here were only accrued during his ownership.
The violations and unpaid fines, however, seem not to have affected his real estate business in New York. As CityRealty recently reported:
Donald Trump’s imprimatur has historically boosted prices of real estate, even in true-blue New York. A CityRealty report revealed that apartments in the 11 Trump-branded condos in Manhattan — which include prime holdings like Trump International Hotel, Trump Tower and Trump Plaza — have sold for 31 percent more, on average, than other New York condos since 2005. In 2015, Trump’s condos sold for an average of $3 million, compared to $2.4 million for all other condos in Manhattan.
[Via I Quant NY]
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