Why I’ve Disliked Donald Trump For Over Thirty Years

Problem is there was no way to do that without being morally repugnant and possibly violating the law.

W 59th St   Google Maps

The Trump name has been on my radar a long time. My grandparents lived in a middle class co-op in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn called Trump Village. Donald’s dad Fred built it.

Donald himself first came to my attention in the early 80s. He was buying properties in Midtown Manhattan, buildings which were undervalued because of New York City rent control laws. One of those buildings was 100 Central Park South (photo above). Directly across from Central Park, it is on one of the most valuable pieces of property in the world!

Trump figured if he could remove rent control, charge market rates and convert the building to luxury co-ops, he could make a fortune. Problem is there was no way to do that without being morally repugnant and possibly violating the law.

He tried evicting the tenants, many older who had lived in the building for decades. They fought back in court.

The first witness was James Galef, an investment analyst who was born 28 years ago in the 12th-floor apartment where he and his brother still live. He described what he said were deteriorating conditions in the building, including faulty elevators and bare lightbulbs in hallways, and he showed a picture of mushrooms growing under a rug.

On Jan. 1, 1982, 10 months after Mr. Trump bought the 15-story building, Mr. Galef received a notice that said he had to restore the apartment to its original condition within 10 days or face immediate eviction. This meant, he said, that he had to replace a wall that had been torn down in 1955, before he was born.

Eviction wasn’t his only ploy. He also tried to change the makeup of the building’s tenants.

New York City was seeking to shelter hundreds of homeless people last year. Donald J. Trump, the realty developer, had a suggestion: put some in 10 vacant apartments in his building at 100 Central Park South.

He offered to let the city’s Human Resources Administration house the homeless at no charge. From the NY Times:

The apartments happened to be in one of Manhattan’s choicer areas. By another coincidence, Mr. Trump was seeking to empty the rentcontrolled building to put up a hotel. He said the tenants were ”multimillionaires” who should not ”be protected in rentcontrolled apartments.”

Robert Trobe, an H.R.A. deputy administrator, has refused the offer, a spokesman says, because ”it did not seem appropriate to house clients in a building slated for demolition.”

Trump was a schmuck. Money and his personal gain were more important than the safety and well being of his mainly older tenants. He knew the regulations going in. He wasn’t about to let them slow him down.

Nothing has changed. He is still a bully. He still doesn’t give a crap for anyone who stands in his way. He represents pretty much everything in life I hate.

Thirty plus years is a long time to stay pissed at The Donald. He hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed.

5 thoughts on “Why I’ve Disliked Donald Trump For Over Thirty Years”

  1. Jeff,

    THAT is a story that isn’t circulating as far as I can recall.

    It should be as it illustrates, very clearly, what kind of momzer
    that Trump truly is.

    I follow this stuff all too regularly and this story needs to see the light
    of day. Although I suspect that his so-called loyal followers
    probably would love.

    Thanks for sending it to your followers (where we will soon see 60+ degrees here
    in Milford and elsewhere in CT!!)

  2. I share your disgust with Mr. Trump, he’s a totally self-centered egomaniac. The biggest mystery to me is how he’s getting so much support! Has our IQ as a nation really dropped that much?!?!? It scares the hell out of me!!!

  3. I share your disgust too. I hadn’t heard that, but being originally from New Jersey and vacationing on the Jersey shore we absolutely heard stories of how awful it was for his New Jersey vendors each time he declared bankruptcy. How bad he was for the business community there and how happy the mayor was when he finally left. I am sure you will find info on that.
    He uses whatever means at his disposal, without any moral compass, to get accomplished what he wants. Imagine if he had the armed forces, intelligence agencies and every other department at his disposal. Unfortunately, his supporters don’t value a moral compass.

  4. Great story, Geoff. This is a true representation of just how selfish he is and always be. He will never be elected President. He would be an embarrassment to our country. I never liked him and never will. The reason he has spent many followers is because he engages people and they like him for that. He is classless, arrogant and a disgrace to mankind.

  5. While I too share disgust for him with regards to this. Most really super rich people have made their billions or millions by hurting others in the wake of their path to wealth and power. I am sure he is not the only bad ass jerk among all the current candidates. I wonder how the Koch brothers got theirs?

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