NEW YORK/TRUMP BUSINESS: “For Todd Brassner, an art dealer who died in a fire that ripped through his Trump Tower apartment last weekend, the New York high-rise he lived in for two decades became unbearable after Donald Trump announced he was running for president. Brassner’s experience trying to sell his 50th-floor condominium in the building that is both President Donald Trump’s gilded New York home and headquarters of his business empire is emblematic of how a high-rise that once defined luxury has lost its luster. In an overwhelmingly Democratic city, the Fifth Avenue building that blares the name of the Republican president has fallen from favor with many New Yorkers and been eclipsed in the super luxury market by nearby new entrants. Real estate agents paint a picture of a decline in condo prices that outstrips declines in similar properties. Brassner, who died on Saturday [4-7-18] in a fire that torched his collection of vintage guitars and Andy Warhol artwork, decided to sell his 1,137-square-foot apartment after being ground down by the constant presence of armed guards and Secret Service agents, friends told newspapers.”
-Andrew Hay, “At New York’s Trump Tower, condo prices have lost their glitter,” Reuters, April 12, 2018 5:03 am