Results tagged “Donald Trump”

In an article apparently timed to coincide with the U.S. Open, the NY Times looks at Mayor Bloomberg's relatively recent fondness for golf. While one might assume a billionaire like Bloomberg would have been playing golf for decades, he apparently only started playing in 2000; Staten Island DA Daniel Donovan clarified, "You probably wouldn’t want to call that golf, what he played" then. And City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, "He is obsessed with it."

Remember how Donald Trump was suing a NY Times business editor Timothy O'Brien and the publishers of his book, TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald, for $5 billion, because The Donald felt it misstated his wealth by billions (Smith's estimate: $150-250 million)? Well, as a hearing is scheduled to take place today, the Wall Street Journal pored over a 2007 deposition that Trump made about his wealth. He said, "My net worth fluctuates, and it goes up and down with markets and with attitudes and with feelings, even my own feeling," and when asked if he's "familiar with the concept of net present value?," Trump replies, "The concept of net present value to me would be the value of the land currently after debt...Well, to me, the word 'net' is an interesting word. It's really — the word 'value' is the important word." Ever the cheerleader, the real estate developer explains, "Would you like me to say, oh, gee, the building is not doing well, blah, blah, blah, come by, the building -- nobody talks that way. Who would ever talk that way?" [via Daily Intel]

Real estate developer Donald Trump has a new business advice book out, which means he's happy to chat with the NY Times Magazine's Deborah Solomon about various financial news. He blasts, AIG (but does point out many bankers didn't cause all the turmoil), says his real estate business is just fine ("Most of my jobs were finished prior to the depression, as I affectionately call it.") and gives his thoughts on Bernard Madoff. Trump claims the Ponzi schemer asked him to invest with him, to which he replied, "No thanks, I can lose my own money." The Donald also thinks Madoff's relatives and associates were in on it: "The wife should be put in jail on the other side of the hallway from him. I think she’s guilty, his sons are guilty, and I think that many of the people in the firm are guilty. He had 16,000 clients, and he’s one man. What, he’s going to send out every envelope every week?" He also tells Solomon, "extreme luxury will never be out of fashion" and "You should make this interview a five-page deal. Because of me, everybody will read it."

Last Friday, Donald Trump resigned from the board of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which operates Trump's Atlantic City casinos and just happens to face bankruptcy. Trump told Bloomberg News, "I have nothing to do with it. I’m not in it, I’m not on the board." Trump, whose daughter Ivanka also quit the board, controlled 28% of the stock and said he offered to buy the flagging company, but bondholders refused. The Financial Times says the group has "$1.7bn of debt, of which about $1.2bn is bond debt." Trump also claims that the casinos' value is "worthless" to him, representing less than one per cent of his net worth. Remember, The Donald is rich—previously, Trump excoriated Rosie O'Donnell for saying he filed for personal bankruptcy.

Donald Trump, the man who once said that Kevin Federline was "fantastic" and "doesn't get enough credit" is back in the news for sharing his thoughts on current events and pop culture icons. In an interview with NY1 that began airing last night and will continue tonight, he called President Bush "so bad, so evil that I don't think any Republican could have won." To explain his political insight, he added, "He'd go into a country, attack Iraq, which had nothing to do with the World Trade Center and just do it because he wanted to do it."

Although the Jets gave their fans a partial reprieve from personal seat licenses by not including upper deck season ticket holders in the scheme, the Jets are charging PSLs for 2,000 of the best seats in the new, under-construction stadium. The Jets have launched a new TV ad to entice fans--and it includes a familiar face:

Street illusionist-stunt fiend David Blaine embarked on his 60-hour project to hang upside over Wollman Rink in Central Park. While doctors say his head won't explode from doing The Dive of Death (as it's called for his ABC special), he could very well go blind.

You can stop holding your breath! Real estate developer Donald Trump threw his hat behind John McCain last night on Larry King Live. He said he's known McCain for a while, "Also, this is not the right time for tax increases. And Obama wants to increase your taxes drastically.” Politico points out, "Well, maybe not your taxes. But certainly The Donald’s: Obama would repeal President Bush tax cuts for households making more than $250,000." (Trump, check out FactCheck.org!) Trump went on to say he didn't understand why Hillary Clinton wasn't chosen as Obama's running mate and said, "He should have chosen Hillary, It would have been a much different race, I believe. Right now, it looks to me like McCain is probably winning.”

The New York Supreme Court has ruled that Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. must submit to a deposition by attorneys representing Donald Trump, who is suing Times business editor Timothy O'Brien and the publishers of O'Brien's book TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald. Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages because he says the book grossly underestimated his net worth at $150 million to $250 million, instead of the billions and billions he claims. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Trump contends that being labeled a mere millionaire hurt his "brand and reputation" and undermined the "perception of Trump as a businessman of extraordinary means and ability (which he is)."

Last week, it was reported that developer Donald Trump was going to buy TV personality Ed McMahon's home out of foreclosure, allowing McMahon to continue to live in it while paying rent. But now it turns out there's some competition for the $4.6 million mansion, with a second anonymous buyer emerging. Trump said, "I hope they take good care of Ed McMahon because he deserves it. The only reason anybody other than me would be interested in this house is because I showed an interest in it first. I just heard that the person negotiating doesn't have financing, and the deal would be subject to getting financing, something which I, obviously, don't need." McMahon had a $4.8 million mortgage out on the property from Countrywide, which said the 85-year-old was $644,000 behind on payments in February.

You've heard about Ed McMahon's home being foreclosed in Beverly Hills? Well, now Donald Trump is swooping in to help out the former Tonight Show sidekick. Trump, who doesn't know McMahon--"I grew up watching him on TV"--told the LA Times it would be "honor" to lease the mansion to the 85-year-old, who defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans with Countrywide (the house is a 6-bedroom, 5-bath home, bought in 1990 for $2.6 million). Details are still being worked out, but Trump said, "When I was at the Wharton School of Business, I'd watch him every night. How could this happen?" We wonder if this means McMahon will have to appear on the next season of The Apprentice.

New York business leaders have been scrambling recently to find a mayoral candidate for 2009 who would be as business-friendly as billionaire Michael Bloomberg has for the last seven years. Today the NY Post reports that they may have found their man for '09: Mayor Bloomberg.

Yesterday Forbes magazine, in their annual ranking of the rich, declared New York City is no longer the billionaire capital of the world. Where have all the dollar signs gone? To Moscow, of course, who beat us out by 3 billionaires (they have 74 to our 71).

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a homicide on Boyland St. in Brooklyn, a person under a train at 116th St. and Douglass Blvd. in Manhattan, and a body found on West 91st St. in Manhattan.
• Martha Stewart is still mad over the public spat she had with Donald Trump in 2005 over her The Apprentice spin-off series. We bet she prepares a wonderful cold revenge dish.
• Police are searching for a man who attacked a 17-year-old woman in Jamaica, Queens, forcing her at knife point to a secluded area where he sexually assaulted her. The attacker may be the same man responsible for four other similar assaults recently.

We think NYC area hospitals should be on alert: TMZ reports that Britney Spears is headed to NYC. Well, if not NYC, something close:

"Spears left Van Nuys Airport at 4:00 PM PT this afternoon. We're told Brit Brit, Adnan and one other male passenger were on the plane. The plane is about to land at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Next stop ... unknown."

When the weather outside is frightful, the risks are likely predictable--in high-wind weather anyway. Early yesterday evening, witnesses report that wooden planks broke free from a crane and crashed onto Spring St. at the new Trump SoHo building, reportedly crashing atop several cars. A collapse of steel from a crane at the WTC site early last week crushed a construction trailer where an architect was seriously injured when pieces of steel demolished his workspace after falling dozens of floors.

On January 2, after seeing a young man have a seizure and fall into the 1 subway tracks at at the 137th Street station just as a train was entering the station, construction worker Wesley Autrey jumped in and covered the other man's body with his own. The train passed over them and a hero was born.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a scaffolding collapse on 5th Ave. and 115th St. in Manhattan, a stabbing on Franklin Ave. in Queens, and a homicide at 83rd St. and 4th Ave. in Brooklyn.
• The new Kaleidoscope Light Show is now on display at Grand Central Terminal's main hall.
• The Toshiba company returns to Times Square after being absent for several decades. The company signed a 10-year lease to capture the top sign spot at 1 Times Square.
• Marty Markowitz will be lighting the giant Brooklyn menorah tomorrow night at Court and Montague Sts. Mr. Met will do the honors flipping the switch on the menorah at Grand Army Plaza.
• A DHL cargo plane will depart from JFK tomorrow loaded with 500 Christmas trees to be delivered to troops in the Middle East.
• Donald Trump Jr. has been renamed the head of his condo board after being ousted without warning a year ago.
• Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte will hold off on retirement and return to the team for the 2008 season.
• The folks at WOXY radio will be streaming nothing but holiday music online between now and Christmas.

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on 87th St. and Central Park West in Manhattan, a DOA in a tree off Woodhaven Blvd. in Queens, and a burn victim on 42nd St. and Vanderbilt Ave. in Manhattan. Sidewalk chalk outline artist Ellis G[allagher] was arrested by police and held overnight as he was being filmed by a PBS crew last week in Boerum Hill. Charges were dropped the next day and Gallagher...

Sure, there are worries about the credit market and subprime mortgage situation, but real estate brokerages around the city are basking in good news: Third-quarter Manhattan apartment closings were at the highest average price ever and home inventory tightened as well.

Donald Trump held a press conference to welcome his yooge Soho condo-hotel hybrid this afternoon, and it was a Trump family affair: Donald, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric were all involved in pointing out various aspects of the project. Trump said, "I want to thank all the protesters outside for making this project so successful."

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a possible abduction at the Mobil gas station off the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, a suspicious death on Cornelia St. in Queens, and a pedestrian struck at Buffalo St. and Hylan Blvd. on Staten Island.
• The Dept. of Buildings declined to revoke permits for Donald Trump's planned 46-story Trump SoHo "hotel" on Spring St. near the Holland Tunnel.
• A State Bridge Task Force completed its inspection of New York's 49 steel deck-truss bridges and found them all to be structurally sound. Still, a bill before the Senate to boost federal spending on bridge maintenance would direct 10% of a $1 billion increase, or $100 million, to New York State.
• A Coast Guard vessel conducting a routine homeland security patrol came upon a 27-year-old man treading water without a life jacket about 400 yards southeast of Staten Island's South Beach.
• Gridskipper has a guide to establishments that brew, distill, and ferment all kinds of potent potables right here in NYC.
• The Gowanus Lounge reports that an F train express line could arrive as early as next year. Or maybe around 2012 or early 2013.
• The New York Times describes the run of the vintage six-car 'A' train yesterday on the line's 75th anniversary.
• IvyGate reports that bars surrounding Columbia University will all be getting ID scanners to keep out underage patrons, and Columbia itself will be picking up the tab for the devices.

In a city whose mayor has made gun control one of his signature issues, it's no surprise that the number of registered gun owners has gone down. The Post reports that there are now 36,169, versus 38,000 last year. Permits that allow one to wear a gun on a holster (concealed) also dropped to 2,555, which the Sun says is almost 50% less than the 2004 number. Of course, there's now way to estimate illegal gun ownership.

Yesterday Merv Griffin lost his battle to prostate cancer at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 82. He received his first treatment for this in 1996 and in late July of this year it was publicized that the cancer had come back. In a statement on Merv.com his son Tony said: "My father was a visionary. He loved business and continued his many projects and holdings even while hospitalized. We take solace in knowing that until the end he had his two favorites by his side--his family and his work. His legacy will be honored through the continuing operations of The Griffin Group under its current leadership and by the millions of lives he continues to affect through entertainment."

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a large fight on Fordham Rd. and Jerome Ave. in the Bronx, police activity in the employee parking lot at JFK Airport in Queens, and a pedestrian was struck on East 57th St. and Madison Ave. in Manhattan.
• Donald Trump owns almost 20% of Brooklyn's Starrett City that his dad bought for him when he graduated from business school. He now advises lower-income residents of the development that "This is not Communist China," in response to protests against a proposed sale and probable eviction.
• New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer points to the obvious conclusion of recent trends: two Duane Reade drug stores directly across the street from one another. What, no Chase banks nested inside?
• CSI: Egypt. The Brooklyn Museum catscanned a mummified body from Egypt and analysts determined that it died a completly normal and uneventful death.
• A former East Village drug kingpin is now busy getting West Village residents high on endorphins as a personal trainer.
• New York tap water may be proclaimed as the best by Mayor Bloomberg, but the city still pays $1 million annually for Poland Spring and other delivered water.
• The city is re-opening the bike-only lane on the north side of the Manhattan Bridge. Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn notes that it's been closed since October 2006.
• And a City Council member wants Councilman Dennis Gallagher, indicted on rape charges, to resign.

MUSIC: Not long ago we saw the movie Once, and absolutely loved it. Busker meets girl, deep connection through music...you get the idea. Now the two main characters are touring and singing the songs from the soundtrack. The male lead was of course the singer of The Frames, Glen Hansard, and his female counterpoint is Marketa Irglova. Tonight they take the stage at Gramercy, so it's your chance to see them off the big screen and right before your very eyes. We wonder if they'll stay in character?

Governor Spitzer nominated H. Dale Hemmerdinger to be Peter Kalikow's replacement as MTA Chairman. Hemmerdinger is a real estate developer with long and varied ties to New York City. He is the president of ATCO Properties and Management, which owns and manages two million square feet of residential, commercial, industrial, and retail space. A longtime backer of Democratic politians, Hemmerdinger's wife donated $40,000 to Spitzer's campaigns since 2000, and Mrs. Spitzer hosted a fundraiser at the Hemmerdinger's Central Park South home last month, according to the Daily News. He is also the former head of the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission, where he recommended balancing the MTA's operating budget by hiking subway and bus fares, as well as increasing tolls for motorists.

Forbes has put out their list of the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities, something to bicker about at the water cooler, no doubt. Here are some of the top-ranked New Yorker's and their earnings:

Controversial plans for high-rise luxury condos at Coney Island have now been scrapped, with developer Thor revising its plans to instead include a glass enclosed water park and hotel space. The city's planning department was very concerned with condominiums being included in the plan, but Thor had argued condos would be critical in keeping the project profitable. Now Thor CEO Joseph Sitt explained, "This is our way of being responsible and putting out an olive branch to the community and city administration."

There was a strange unmapped incident on the Gothamist Newsmap yesterday afternoon: "Founded [sic] Bones" in the Bronx. It turns out that a contractor found some bones - and a rusted gun - "embedded in cement," according to WNBC 4.