Owners Are Stripping Buildings Of The Trump Name, And Some Are Risking Legal Troubles To Do So
Since the election of real estate mogul Donald Trump as president, a number of property owners around the globe have fought to remove Trump's name from building facades. Only a handful have been successful.
A New York condo board pursuing a similar ousting of the Trump banner is entangled in a legal battle as a result.
Trump Place, a condo on the Upper West Side, has been licensed under the name since 2000. When it became public knowledge that the board was trying to change the name of the building, Trump International attorney Alan Garten dispersed a letter stating that proceeding with the subtraction of Trump's name would be considered breach of a 20-year licensing agreement, The Real Deal reports. The matter has since been taken to the Manhattan Supreme Court, which will determine whether or not the board is within its rights in attempting to remove the name.
The Upper West Side condo building is far from the first to rid a building of the title. In 2016, 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Blvd. successfully ditched removed the Trump tag after a group of residents started a petition to remove it in lieu of a more neutral name that would appeal to current and future tenants, the Washington Post reports.
In Toronto, JCF Capital, the company that owned the Trump SoHo hotel in the city, paid an estimated $6M in order to break its contract with The Trump Organization and strip the name from its exterior. The property is now known as The Adelaide Hotel. Similarly, the Trump SoHo in New York was changed in late December to The Dominick.
