Updated at 6:50 p.m. with comment from Trump
The Trump Organization has been ousted as manager at A Trump Place building, sources told The Real Deal. The condominium board at 120 Riverside Boulevard has quietly replaced Trump with AKAM Living Services, sources said. But residents are not at all happy with the change, and may try and oust the board, said one broker familiar with the building.
“The contract expired and the board decided not to renew without notifying anyone,” the broker said. The switch to New York-based AKAM has left many residents “very unhappy,” according to another source.
“We don’t know them,” a resident who requested anonymity said of AKAM. “There was no transparency,” he said.
AKAM confirmed that they have been retained to manage the property.
Residents asked Trump representatives to meet with them this evening, said Sonja Talesnik, general counsel for the Trump Organization. “We certainly would have been willing to discuss the concerns of the board if they had contacted us,” she said. “They gave us no indication that they were looking to change managing agents.”
“I’m unhappy, as many are, about how the decision was made,” the resident said. “No owners were consulted.”
The 275-unit condominium building, between 65th and 66th streets, was designed by SLCE Architects and completed in 2005, according to Streeteasy.com. It was also the last building in The Trump Place complex completed by Trump’s company, Hudson Waterfront, before the remaining development rights were sold to a partnership between Extell Development and the Carlyle Group, for $1.76 billion that same year.
“You would think a white glove building, as we are, would make the decision differently,” the resident said, underscoring that the board was aware that the contract with Trump would expire, and had ample time to notify and consult residents.