Three Manhattan buildings to dump the Trump name
16 Nov 2016
Three large apartment buildings would see the big gold letters spelling out Donald Trump's on them removed from next week. The move comes after hundreds of tenants at buildings at 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan signed a petition to "Dump the Trump name" last month after Trump's provocative campaign statements offended women, immigrants and liberals on the Upper West Side.
Trump does not own the buildings between 66th and 69th Streets, along Riverside Boulevard, whose owner is Equity Residential, a publicly-traded company based in Chicago, which bought them in 2005 for $809 million.
Trump had been involved in the development known at various times as Riverside South and Trump Place. Equity Residential retained the name Trump Place on the exterior of the buildings and on their letterhead, signage and uniforms.
Tenants suspected a change was in the offing in late October when doormen told residents that they were being measured for new uniforms that would no longer bear the Trump name.
On Tuesday, residents receive an email from Mary Pawlisa, a senior regional manager for Equity, that read, ''This week, the Trump Place building names will change to the street addresses - 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard. The purpose of this change is to assume a neutral building identity that appeals to all current and future residents.
The buildings formed part of a large complex along the Hudson River that Trump developed together with a group of billionaires from Hong Kong in the 1990s.
The name change would not apply to several nearby condominium towers that also bear the Trump name. The apartment buildings together have 1,325 units.
Linda Miller, vice president of the Trump Organization, said the name change "is simply the enforcement of a pre-existing agreement which has been in place for years. It was mutually agreed upon."
