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In the United States, few places are as liberal as the Upper West Side of Manhattan. And so few things are more annoying to many residents of a residential complex than the big letters greeting them in front of their building: T-R-U-M-P P-L-A-C-E.
Thursday, the co-owners will join three neighboring buildings to finally get their relief.
The workers will hold the letters in front of and behind 200 Riverside Boulevard, a 46-storey building located between 69th and 70th Streets. The building will simply call: 200 Riverside Boulevard.
Residents of other brand Trump condominiums in New York, Stamford, Connecticut and Chicago plan to take similar action since Donald J. Trump plunged into the presidential race, but they were stuck with the lack support and the fear of costly lawsuits. or a decline in the value of their homes. The challenge of unraveling the licensing agreements signed with the Trump organization has also been an obstacle.
The condominium located at 200 Riverside Boulevard, however, found a solution.
The building bought the right to use the name Trump in 2000, paying $ 1 under a four-page license agreement signed by Mr. Trump. But the feeling of having his name on the front door changed during Mr. Trump's campaign. Many residents have sought to distance themselves from their policies.
For some, the once-omnipresent Trump brand, which decorates apartment buildings, hotels, casinos, golf courses, steaks, costumes and water, no longer has the same appeal as before the career. Mr. Trump's policy.
Eric Chung, a long-time resident of 200 Riverside Boulevard whose family owns two units in the building, said he was concerned about the cost of litigation and the plight of the "excellent employees" of the company. ;building. But after a court ruling and a recent investigation Among the owners of the building, the majority of whom wanted his name removed, he said the removal of Trump's letters "makes a very powerful statement."
Eric Trump, who has taken a leading role in Trump companies, declined to comment on Wednesday.
In Manhattan, 15 residential buildings were named after Trump in 2015. The following year, a trio of neighboring rental apartment buildings just south of 200 Riverside Boulevard bore the names of their facades, rain rugs in the lobby and employee uniforms. after 300 people signed an online petition entitled "Dump the TRUMP Name".
"We were driven by our intense feelings with regard to Trump himself," said Linda Gottlieb, a resident of one of Trump's brand apartment buildings, during a recent meeting. interview. "We would not have stayed in the building where we felt so strongly. We have just renewed our lease for two years.
The troubled hotels in Toronto and New York paid the Trumps millions of dollars to remove the Trump name from their properties. The owner of a Trump hotel in Panama used a crowbar to remove the Trump letters.
Activity remained stable or decreased in some Trump brand hotels, as well as in City-owned golf course, arena and skating rinks, managed by the Trump Organization in New York.
The campaign to remove the Trump brand from 200 Riverside Boulevard began in 2017. In response to concerns expressed by some of the 377 condominium owners, the Council of Co-owners has begun discussions on the possible removal of the Trump name from the façade of the building. building.
In February, 63% of the surveyed unit owners supported the removal of "Trump Place" letters from the building.
But a month later, Alan Garten, legal officer of the Trump Organization, sent a letter to the board in which he promised a lawsuit, claiming that the company would seek "substantial damages, costs and fees from lawyer".
The prospect of expensive litigation with the Trump organization has scared many residents and a small group vigorously opposed the removal of Trump's name.
An internal bulletin board for residents showed this division.
"I'm adamant that the sign must stay on the building," wrote a resident. "We bought in the building with her. There is no reason to take it. "
Another wrote: "It may be argued that Trump's name was able, at one point, to contribute to the value of our apartments. This is clearly not the case today. "
After overcoming certain internal divisions, the Co-ownership Council has developed a discreet strategy with his lawyer, Harry W. Lipman: he would ask the State Supreme Court to make a declaratory judgment that it was not necessary to preserve the name Trump in the building license agreement. The agreement provided that the condominium would maintain the building on par with the "luxury condominiums", but did not mention any requirement that Trump's name remain in perpetuity.
In May, the judge ruled in favor of the owners of condominiums, saying the agreement did not oblige homeowners "to use the" Trump "identification on the facade of the premises." She firmly rejected the claims of the owners. Trump's lawyers that the building is required to use the name "in perpetuity".
Lawyers for the D.J.T. Holdings, a Trump group company, has vowed to appeal the decision. The deadline for an appeal has expired on October 1 without any action.
The council conducted a formal survey of condominium owners that ended on October 10. Nearly 70% of condominium owners who voted said they wanted to "remove signage" from the building.
The commission estimated that it would cost about $ 23,000 to remove the 20 letters from the building and wash the facade.
The management agreement for the Trump Organization condominium expires at the end of 2019. The building's employees work for the condominium, not for the Trump Organization.
The Trump apartments in 2017 sold for an average of $ 1,741 per square foot in Manhattan, or 6.6 per cent less than the average condominium in Manhattan, according to CityRealty, an online apartment broker. At Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, average prices per square foot increased from $ 3,000 in 2013 to about $ 2,000 last year.
"The hallmark of your business is a double-edged sword," said Daniel Neiditch, president of River 2 River Realty in New York. "Being president of the United States is a popularity contest. Fifty percent of the country loves the guy; 50% hate the guy and what he does with the chair. This is reflected in the real estate. "
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