WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Trump’s real-estate brand collides with politics
Before Donald Trump ran for U.S. president, former Westchester County Executive Andy Spano and his wife, Brenda, bought a condominium at Trump Park Residences in Yorktown. His address: 210 Trump Park, Shrub Oak, N.Y., 10588.
Spano said he wasn’t bothered at the time by the building’s affiliation with the Manhattan developer and television star. After all, Spano had met Trump in the early 2000s at Trump Tower in Manhattan at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s U.S. Senate campaign and recalls having cordial relations with the developer during his stint as county executive. ● Then came Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 and the deep polarization over Trump’s checkered presidency.
Spano’s mailing address became a sore spot, especially upon registration at conferences that required him to put down where he lived. The Spanos sold their three-bedroom unit at Trump Park in June 2020, as Trump geared up for this reelection campaign against Joe Biden.
“It became embarrassing, especially for me,” said Spano. “I didn’t like living at the Trump address. That made it easy to leave.”
Spano’s unease with the Trump address was shared by fellow condominium owners in the Democratic stronghold of White Plains. In 2021, they voted to end the condominium’s branding arrangement with the Trump Organization, and drop “Trump” from their building’s façade.
“I would surmise that in certain areas, having the Trump name would be an attraction instead of a deterrent. But that’s not the case here in White Plains.”
Bruce Feldman
What was once Trump Tower at City Center became The Tower at City Place.
The White Plains building also ended its management agreement with the Trump Organization, as did the Trump Plaza high-rise in New Rochelle.
The New Rochelle Trump building, however kept its name over its Huguenot Street portico. So did the Trump Park condo owners in Republican-leaning Yorktown, who voted to retain the Trump name at their entrance, and as their mailing address.
“I was a little surprised they kept it,” said Spano.
These skirmishes among Westchester condominium owners over their association with Trump comes as state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron prepares to issue his ruling on state Attorney General Letitia James’ request that the Trumps pay up to $370 million in penalties in the case she brought over the Trump companies’ fraudulent business practices.
This week, there were also hearings on Trump’s hush money case in New York City, his election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, and Trump’s classified documents case in Florida.
It’s the latest dissonance between Trump’s dueling brands, which have shown signs of tarnish.
On the one hand, there’s the commitment to quality and luxury at Trump branded residential complexes as well as at Trump National Westchester in Briarcliff Manor and Trump National Hudson Valley in Fishkill. The Trump Seven Springs complex in Bedford, North Castle and New Castle, with its historic 50-room mansion, rises on a bluff overlooking the Mount Kisco Reservoir.
That brand, however, has taken a hit in the state fraud case, in which Engoron found that Trump overvalued several of his properties, including Seven Springs in Westchester, to obtain preferential insurance and mortgage rates.
How Trump’s Westchester properties are impacted by Engoron’s yet-tobe-issued penalties remains to be seen.
“We asked for $370 million in disgorgement for his ill-gotten gains,” said Delaney Kempner, a spokeswoman for Attorney General James. “If the judge in his verdict awards us that amount, they may have to sell some properties to pay for it.”
At Trump Plaza in New Rochelle, the building’s managing agent, AKAM, Inc., declined comment. So did real estate broker Rose Bulfamante, the agent for the 39th floor penthouse apartment that’s renting there for $6,500 a month.
The company that’s managing Trump Park Residences in Yorktown also declined comment.
Trump’s political brand
Then there’s Trump’s political brand, which has made him the Republican frontrunner in his bid to become the party’s presidential nominee for a third time, as he rails against the criminal system, migrants seeking asylum, and U.S. aid to Ukraine.
His campaign comes while he faces indictments on 91 felony counts in four criminal cases, including his role in the events of Jan. 6, and penalties of $83 million he owes E. Jean Carroll in her recent defamation case victory.
On the political front, Westchester
Republican Chairman Doug Colety said he remains a “cheerleader” for Trump.
“With everything going on – with crime, with Biden, with what’s going on in Israel, and the rest of the world not respecting us politically and militarily, I think he’s doing well,” Colety said. “I think this year, anything can happen. Trump is gaining ground all over, and that includes Westchester.”
Colety believes Trump will survive his legal troubles.
“He hasn’t been convicted yet, and in my view, doesn’t look like he will be,” Colety said. “It looks like he will have access to the ballot, and has a strong chance of becoming president again.”
Bruce Feldman, who was one of the first owners to move into Trump Tower in White Plains in 2005, said the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were the catalyst for ending the condominium’s association with Trump.
“There had been rumblings for years,” said Feldman. “But Jan. 6 was a catalyst for the board to act. I would surmise that in certain areas, having the Trump name would be an attraction instead of a deterrent. But that’s not the case here in White Plains.”
David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government accountability. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at dwilson3@lohud.com