Feud over Trump name plagues New Rochelle condo

Residents of a 40-story condominium building in Westchester County are up in arms against one another over Donald Trump’s name on their building.

A vocal group of residents at Trump Plaza in New Rochelle are crying foul at an attempt to remove the name from the property, the New York Post reported. The matter seemingly should have been settled at the 194-unit residence years ago, but remains a thorny issue as the former president makes another run for the White House.

Proponents of sticking with the Trump name claim the condo board is acting on political ideology. Those who want the name changed believe they are acting in the long-term interest of residents.

“While there is a small and very vocal group of owners who do not support the name change, there is a silent majority who we believe support the name change,” board president Greg Root told the Post. He added that removing the Trump name is the best choice for “long-term values” in the building.

In 2021, the building made its first move towards distancing itself from the developer, voting to ditch the Trump Organization as property manager. AKAM took over the building management. 

A vote was held by the condo board in 2022 to determine whether the Trump name should be taken down. That vote failed because not enough people participated, Root claimed. He said 70 percent of voters favored the name change, but a super majority was needed to pass.

Since then, proponents of removing Trump’s name have allegedly continued to campaign to drop the name. Opponents of the move claim the issue has already been decided on and insist that the Trump name is important to them.

“We moved into the building because of the Trump name, before he was political,” said one resident. “His buildings were luxury buildings and everything he touched he made beautiful.”

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Trump Plaza is one of two major residential properties that have clung onto the Trump name in recent years. Many Trump properties have shed the name in the aftermath of either his first term in office or the Jan. 6 insurrection. 

In Manhattan, condos with the Trump name are underperforming against the rest of the market since 2016. Columbia University economist Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh determined condos with Trump’s name went from selling at a 1 percent premium compared to similar units to selling for 4 percent less during that period.

— Holden Walter-Warner