Donald Trump

Kushner Companies’ plan for extensive renovations at 666 Fifth Avenue rejected by Vornado

A previous rendering of 666 Fifth Avenue, courtesy of Kushner Companies/Zaha Hadid Architects

October 16, 2017

Kushner Companies’ plan for extensive renovations at 666 Fifth Avenue rejected by Vornado

By Devin Gannon

Instead of the 41-story Midtown tower becoming an 80-story office building with hotel rooms and luxury housing, 666 Fifth Avenue will now get a much more simple upgrade. According to Bloomberg, Vornado Realty Trust, the project’s partner alongside Kushner Companies, told brokers the property will remain an office building, with“mundane” renovations planned. As one of the most financially troubled developments for Kushner Cos., the Fifth Ave project has been losing money since its purchase was first coordinated by Jared Kushner, currently a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, in 2007.
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Policy

De Blasio releases plan for New York City to follow Paris climate agreement

Photo via pixabay

October 4, 2017

De Blasio releases plan for New York City to follow Paris climate agreement

By Devin Gannon

Following President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement in June, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order that committed New York City to honor the standards of the accord, which is an international negotiation aimed to mitigate climate change worldwide. On Tuesday, de Blasio released an action plan that details ways to lower the city’s carbon footprint, reduce 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030 and introduce a citywide single-stream recycling program by 2020. New York City is the first metropolitan area to release a Paris Agreement-compatible action plan, according to the report.
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Policy

Donald Trump’s Empire State Building doodle expected to fetch $12,000 at auction

Sketch via Julien’s Auctions; Donald Trump via Wiki Commons

September 28, 2017

Donald Trump’s Empire State Building doodle expected to fetch $12,000 at auction

Update 10/20/17: Crain's reports that Trump’s doodle has sold at auction for $16,000. The buyer has not been named, but a portion of the sale will benefit Connecticut National Public Radio station WHDD-FM. He may not have had any formal political experience before taking office, but Donald Trump was certainly well versed in doodling. In July, a 2005 charity auction sketch he made of the NYC skyline, which not surprisingly depicts Trump Tower front and center among anonymous buildings, sold at auction for an incredible $29,184. And now, as reported by the Guardian, a similarly elementary sketch he did of the Empire State Building is also headed to auction, where it's expected to fetch up to $12,000, a portion of which will be donated to National Public Radio (NPR). Interestingly, Trump did the signed drawing in 1995, the year after he began his fraught attempt to take ownership of the landmark building.
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No one wants to rent Ivanka Trump’s Park Avenue apartment

September 27, 2017

No one wants to rent Ivanka Trump’s Park Avenue apartment

By Devin Gannon

After months of being on the market, the Manhattan pad of President Donald Trump’s daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump just won’t rent, despite three substantial price chops. The first daughter first purchased the two-bedroom, two bathroom condo at 502 Park Avenue in 2004 for $1.5 million. Upon her father’s election, Ivanka listed the apartment at Trump Park Avenue in November for $15,000 per month. In February, the price dropped to $13,000 per month. On Tuesday, the asking price was $10,450 per month, a 30 percent price cut since the presidential election, according to Bloomberg.
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Trump is claiming a $45K tax break by calling Trump Tower his primary residence

Photo of Trump Tower courtesy of Krystal T’s Flickr

September 18, 2017

Trump is claiming a $45K tax break by calling Trump Tower his primary residence

By Devin Gannon

While this week marks just the third time President Donald Trump has visited New York City since his January inauguration, property taxes he filed after the election designate Trump Tower as his primary residence. As the Real Deal reported, Trump will save $45,000 by calling his penthouse his main home, utilizing a tax credit known as the “coop condo abatement.” The credit can be used by owner-occupied co-ops and condos and takes off 28.1 percent of property taxes for the unit. Because of the tax abatement, the president has saved a little under $200,000 on his taxes over the last five years.
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Refugees are renting out Trump’s childhood home during this week’s UN General Assembly

Photo courtesy of Laffey Fine Homes from a previous listing

September 18, 2017

Refugees are renting out Trump’s childhood home during this week’s UN General Assembly

By Devin Gannon

With President Donald Trump back in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly this week, a group of refugees is staying at the president’s childhood home, renting the Queens property through Airbnb. The Jamacia Estates home at 85-15 Wareham Place is being rented by Oxfam, an anti-poverty organization, to bring attention to the refugee crisis (h/t NY Post). The group invited four refugees to talk with journalists at the rental, highlighting their concern with Trump’s travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries and all refugees that was introduced in January. After facing multiple legal challenges, the Supreme Court allowed the refugee policy to remain temporarily, but justices will hear arguments about the travel ban on Oct. 10.
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Problems at 666 Fifth Avenue tower linked to Jared Kushner’s White House role

A rendering of 666 Fifth Avenue, courtesy of Kushner Companies/Zaha Hadid Architects

September 14, 2017

Problems at 666 Fifth Avenue tower linked to Jared Kushner’s White House role

By Devin Gannon

In 2007, Kushner Companies purchased a 41-story tower in Midtown for $1.8 billion, which was the most expensive real estate deal ever in the U.S. at the time. The transaction of 666 Fifth Avenue, coordinated by Jared Kushner, now a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, was ill-timed, making the purchase just before the economic recession. As the Washington Post reported, the Fifth Avenue project is one of the most financially troubled for Kushner Cos., with one-fourth of office space empty, and its lease revenue not covering monthly interest payments. While Kushner has divested his stake in the property to avoid conflicts of interest, the property's value has dropped and foreign entities have withdrawn financial support. Currently, Kushner’s dealings are under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, as part of the broader investigation into Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.
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Trump appears receptive to funding multi-billion Gateway tunnel project

The path for a future Hudson River tunnel is being preserved at Hudson Yards, photo via Amtrak

September 8, 2017

Trump appears receptive to funding multi-billion Gateway tunnel project

By Devin Gannon

Even though the U.S. Department of Transportation withdrew in July from the board that oversees the Gateway Program, President Trump is keeping an open-mind about the nearly $30 billion project that would add a second rail beneath the Hudson River. According to the Daily News, during a meeting at the White House between New York and New Jersey elected officials and the Trump administration, the president showed interest in the project and appeared to support having the federal government pay for half of the cost. The new train tunnel under the Hudson would provide a critical link between NJ and Penn Station.
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Queens official wants Trump State Park renamed to honor Charlottesville victim

Photo via Wikimedia

September 7, 2017

Queens official wants Trump State Park renamed to honor Charlottesville victim

By Devin Gannon

Assembly Member Nily Rozic, a Democrat who represents Queens, is expected to introduce a bill that would change the name of a state park named after President Donald Trump. Rozic’s bill would rename the park to honor Heather Heyer, the woman killed last month by a white supremacist in Charlottesville. As BuzzFeed first reported, a similar push was made in both houses of the state legislature and from local members of Congress in 2015 and 2016. Trump donated the 436 acres of land to New York State in 2006 on the condition his name be “prominently displayed.”
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Policy

Trump could earn $14M from the sale of a Brooklyn housing complex he co-owns

Starrett City photo via Matt Green on Flickr, President Trump photo via Wikimedia

September 7, 2017

Trump could earn $14M from the sale of a Brooklyn housing complex he co-owns

By Devin Gannon

The owners of Starrett City, the largest federally subsidized housing project in the country, recently announced they found a buyer for the $850 million Brooklyn development. Located in East New York, Starrett City sits on 145 acres and includes 5,881 affordable apartments for 15,000 residents. As the New York Times reported, President Donald Trump partially owns the housing development and will benefit from the sale of the property. Since the sale requires federal approval from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and state officials, this puts the president on both sides of the agreement, creating a potential conflict of interest for him.
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Popular Articles

Loss of affordability at Coney Island’s Trump Village highlights issues with the city’s Mitchell-Lama program

Photo of Trump Village West via Trump 4 West

August 21, 2017

Loss of affordability at Coney Island’s Trump Village highlights issues with the city’s Mitchell-Lama program

By Devin Gannon

Built by Donald Trump’s father, Fred, in 1964, Trump Village in Coney Island features seven 23-story towers with 3,700 co-op and rental apartments. To pay for the $70 million project, which would total $564 million today, Fred Trump used Mitchell-Lama, a government program that granted financial incentives in exchange for setting aside affordable housing. The typical rental contract lasts 20 years, and after that, landlords can opt-out of the program. As Crain’s reported, Trump Village became one of the first co-ops to exit the Mitchell-Lama program in 2007, letting residents sell their apartments for whatever the market allowed. Owners of 38,000 Mitchell-Lama apartments, representing 28% of the program's housing, have left in the past 20 years. But as the value of these apartments, which were once affordable, keeps rising, New Yorkers looking for affordable housing there, and other former Mitchell-Lama apartments, may be out of luck.
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De Blasio and Cuomo announce plans to eradicate ‘symbols of hate’ in New York

Image via Alisdare Hickson/flickr

August 17, 2017

De Blasio and Cuomo announce plans to eradicate ‘symbols of hate’ in New York

By Devin Gannon

After a violent weekend led by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, New York officials have announced plans to review and remove controversial public structures. Mayor de Blasio said on Wednesday the city will conduct a 90-day review of “all symbols of hate on city property,” by putting together a panel of experts and community leaders who will make recommendations for items to take down (h/t NY Post). On Wednesday, Governor Cuomo called upon the United States Army to reconsider its decision to keep the street names that honor Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, two Confederate leaders, at Fort Hamilton. Cuomo also announced the removal of the busts of Lee and Jackson from CUNY’s Hall of Fame for Great Americans in the Bronx.
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Donald Trump’s childhood home in Queens is renting for $725/night on Airbnb

Photo courtesy of Laffey Fine Homes from a previous listing

August 9, 2017

Donald Trump’s childhood home in Queens is renting for $725/night on Airbnb

By Devin Gannon

President Trump, who is currently in New Jersey on a 17-day vacation, announced that he will travel to Trump Tower this Sunday. While his Midtown penthouse will be getting a lot of attention this weekend, his childhood home in Queens is also making headlines. The home at 85-15 Wareham Place is up for rent on Airbnb, according to a recent listing on the company’s website (h/t NY Post). The modest Tudor style home in Jamaica Estates is listed for as much as $725 per night. The home features five bedrooms, sleeps 20 people, and includes a life-size cut out of POTUS in the living room. Even though the president only lived there until he was four years old, according to the listing, “this is a unique and special opportunity to stay in the home of a sitting president.”
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Celebrities

After lease dispute, Secret Service vacates Trump Tower for trailer outside

Photo of Trump Tower via Krystal T’s Flickr

August 4, 2017

After lease dispute, Secret Service vacates Trump Tower for trailer outside

By Devin Gannon

The Secret Service has left its central command post inside Trump Tower after an argument between the agency and the Trump Organization over the lease agreement for the space. While the Secret Service previously placed its supervisors and backup agents one floor below the president's apartment, the Washington Post reported that in early July, the agents were relegated to a trailer on the sidewalk. Although President Trump has not been to his eponymous tower since he was inaugurated in January, the Secret Service still treats Trump Tower as the president’s permanent residence.
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Celebrities

Donald Trump’s sketch of the Manhattan skyline sells for $29,184 at auction

Donald Trump’s 2005 Manhattan skyline sketch with Trump Tower in the center. (Nate D. Sanders Auctions)

July 28, 2017

Donald Trump’s sketch of the Manhattan skyline sells for $29,184 at auction

By Michelle Cohen

Update 7/28/17: Artnet reports that Trump's doodle has sold at auction for $29,184. “It’s a piece of art from a U.S. President, so it’s attracted interest from not just Trump followers, but also presidential memorabilia collectors,” Michael Kirk of Nate D. Sanders auctioneers told the art site. “It’s received a lot of global press, so the interest level has been high. The piece has received some five times more than our normal auction traffic." A charity auction sketch made by future president Donald Trump in 2005 will be headed for the auction block once again, according to the Washington Post. The drawing shows the artist's rendition of the Manhattan skyline with Trump Tower anchoring the center spot in a crowd of anonymous buildings.
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Nearly complete tunnels under Hudson Yards need more funding to finish

Photo of Hudson Yards Amtrak tunnel encasement via Tutor Perini

July 21, 2017

Nearly complete tunnels under Hudson Yards need more funding to finish

By Devin Gannon

Currently, the first part of two box tunnels under the Hudson Yards development, below 10th and 11th Avenues on Manhattan’s west side, sits mostly finished. While construction of the final piece has yet to begin, when it’s complete the remaining section would link the tubes to the proposed new tunnel under the Hudson River, providing better access to Penn Station. However, according to the New York Times, both tunnel projects, which fall under the multi-billion dollar Gateway Program, lack the funding needed to finish.
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Hudson River tunnel project’s price tag jumps nearly 50 percent to $13 billion

July 7, 2017

Hudson River tunnel project’s price tag jumps nearly 50 percent to $13 billion

By Devin Gannon

According to a report released Thursday by the federal government, constructing a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River and repairing the existing one could cost nearly $13 billion, almost a 50 percent increase from an earlier $7.7 billion estimate. Transit officials say they are moving forward with the project because of its urgency; the two-track tunnel, which takes Amtrak riders and NJ Transit commuters to and from New York City, is over 100 years old and was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy. According to Crain’s, the report, which evaluated the plan’s environmental and economic impacts, follows the recent withdrawal of the U.S. Transportation Department from the Gateway corporation board.
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U.S. Department of Transportation backs out of group overseeing Hudson River tunnel project

The two tunnels under the Hudson River that need repair, image via Amtrak

July 5, 2017

U.S. Department of Transportation backs out of group overseeing Hudson River tunnel project

By Devin Gannon

Despite forming an infrastructure task force made up of two New York-based developers, the Trump administration has withdrawn from the board of the Gateway Program, a $23.9 billion project that would add a second rail beneath the Hudson River. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said it is not their “practice to serve in such a capacity on other local transportation projects.” As the number of commuters entering the city from NJ continues to grow, the purpose of the Gateway Program was to double rail capacity between the two states as well as fix the Hudson River tunnel’s crumbling infrastructure, which was damaged by severe flooding during Hurricane Sandy. If one of the two tubes needs to be shut down before a new tunnel is built, train capacity into NY would be reduced by 75 percent.
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To work around Trump, Michael Bloomberg launches $200M initiative for U.S. cities

June 26, 2017

To work around Trump, Michael Bloomberg launches $200M initiative for U.S. cities

By Devin Gannon

The former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, announced a new philanthropic project on Monday aimed at investing and empowering the country’s cities. The $200 million program, called the American Cities Initiative, will help mayors push for policies that deal with climate change, gun violence, public health and immigration. As the New York Times reported, a major component of Bloomberg’s project will be a “Mayors Challenge,” which will award six-and seven-figure grants to mayors who draft interesting policy proposals.
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Policy

After less than a day on the market, Donald Trump’s childhood home finds a renter

June 16, 2017

After less than a day on the market, Donald Trump’s childhood home finds a renter

Since initially hitting the market last summer, Donald Trump's childhood home in Jamaica Estates, Queens has seen quite the runaround. After a price chop from $1.65 to $1.2 million, the listing was pulled in November to head to the auction block, but shortly thereafter Manhattan real estate mogul Michael Davis bought the Tudor-style home sight-unseen for just under $1.4 million. He then flipped it for $2.14 million, nearly twice what he paid and double the neighborhood average. Mansion Global now has the scoop that the mystery buyer, whose identity was shielded behind the LLC “Trump Birth House,” will rent it out for between $3,500 and $4,000 a month, on par with similarly sized homes in the neighborhood. ***Update 7/16/2017: Just one day after it was announced that Donald Trump's childhood home would be placed on the rental market, DNA Info reports that the Queens property has already found a tenant. Real estate agent Jason Friedman of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage told the website that "a long-term lease, for at least a year" was signed "almost immediately" after the home was listed, although for how much is not clear. Friedman shared only that the rent was more than the $3,500 reported yesterday. No word yet on who has scooped up the property.
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Celebrities

Trump hires family party planner Lynne Patton to run NY housing programs

June 16, 2017

Trump hires family party planner Lynne Patton to run NY housing programs

By Devin Gannon

President Trump appointed family friend Lynne Patton on Wednesday to oversee New York’s federal housing programs, despite her clear lack of housing experience. Patton, who formerly arranged tournaments at Trump’s golf courses and planned Eric Trump’s wedding, will head up the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Region II, which includes New York and New Jersey, and will oversee the distribution of billions of taxpayer dollars. As reported by the Daily News, Patton’s relationship with the Trump family dates back to 2009 when she first began as their event planner.
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Some Trump Palace apartment owners want to remove the building’s name

Google Street View

June 5, 2017

Some Trump Palace apartment owners want to remove the building’s name

By Devin Gannon

Google Street View Despite winning the presidential election last fall, Donald Trump’s New York City properties have hit a losing streak. Trump-branded hotels and condos throughout the city have seen a sharp decline in event bookings and property values. And at the 55-story Trump Palace at 200 East 69th Street, one of the tallest towers in the neighborhood, the average unit sits on the market for 107 days, 35 percent longer than the average luxury unit. To combat declining property values, an apartment owner at Trump Palace has written a letter asking neighbors to come together and remove the name “Trump” from the building, as the Hollywood Reporter discovered.
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Celebrities

Waterfront Alliance’s ‘Harbor Scorecard’ says if your NYC neighborhood is at risk for severe flooding

June 2, 2017

Waterfront Alliance’s ‘Harbor Scorecard’ says if your NYC neighborhood is at risk for severe flooding

By Devin Gannon

This week marked the beginning of hurricane season and experts predict storms will be worse than usual, especially following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord on Thursday. To better inform New Yorkers about the risks of rising sea level and storm surges, the Waterfront Alliance, a nonprofit that works to protect waterfronts, released a Harbor Scorecard, as reported by the Brooklyn Eagle. The interactive scorecard lets users view each neighborhood by its waterfront safety and coastal resiliency. The group found that more than 400,000 New Yorkers face a 50 percent risk of a major flood by 2060.
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Policy

Trump SoHo sees sharp drop in event bookings, increase in layoffs

Photo of Trump SoHo via Trump Hotels

May 25, 2017

Trump SoHo sees sharp drop in event bookings, increase in layoffs

By Devin Gannon

Trump SoHo, a $450 million, 46-story hotel condominium at 246 Spring Street, has suffered from a sharp decline in corporate event bookings and an increase in staff layoffs. Documents reviewed by WYNC show the once $700-per-night hotel now offers rooms for under $400 a night, less than most of the city’s five- and even four-star rated accommodations. Plus, managers plan on laying off 12 room attendants out of the hotel’s 80 total housekeeping staff and removing turn-down service. While last year the hotel booked 29 large corporate events between January and mid-May, this year just 11 events were booked, with fewer well-known names.
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Events & Things To Do

Governor Cuomo asks Trump for emergency assistance during Penn Station repairs

May 22, 2017

Governor Cuomo asks Trump for emergency assistance during Penn Station repairs

By Devin Gannon

As his administration finalizes its budget plan, Governor Cuomo wrote a letter Sunday to President Trump asking for emergency federal funds to lessen what he called Penn Station’s “summer of agony,” reports the Daily News. With six weeks of infrastructure repairs coming to the transit hub this July and August, the governor said the station’s daily flow of 600,000 passengers will face a 20 percent reduction in service during peak hours while Amtrak shuts down some of its tracks, which will then have a ripple effect on the subway system and regional transit.
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