The Trump Organization LLC

LOCATION: You’ve helped the Clinton family find their homes in Westchester and in Washington.  read more »

• Poor Jerry Seinfeld had to learn the hard way that Manhattan brokers don't broker on the Sabbath. A judge has ruled that he'll have to pay the normal $100,000 fee (give or take) for his new $3.95 million townhouse on West 82nd Street. Larry David would be proud. [New York Law Journal, via Gawker]
• Thank god. New York has made it onto Forbes' list of Most Expensive Rentals. Our local honors go to the $70,000-per-month Trump International penthouse, where panoramic views do not at all make up for the harsh fact that it would cost $840,000 to live there for one year. [Forbes]
• Meet a New Yorker named Fitz-Greene Halleck: He has his own statue in Central Park, and he may or may not have been a big fan of Grand Central Station. [L Magazine]
• As if Costas Kondylis' 3,854 Trump high-rises weren't enough (see above), he's designing the richly-named Platinum at 247 West 46th Street. Sadly, the "crazed fireplace lobby decor" is a deal breaker. [Curbed]
- Max Abelson
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• Travel + Leisure picks the best 500 hotels in the world, and New York snags nine honors: the Four Seasons, Hotel Plaza Athenee, Lowell, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, Ritz-Carlton (Battery and Central Park), St. Regis, and Trump International. We vote for the Chelsea, too. [T+L]
• What do architects think about when asked to imagine NYC's future? They get bowled over with "anxiety over global warming." So the Architecture Research Office has created "radical coping mechanisms" to make up for soon-to-be flooded streets. See the cheery 22nd-century Manhattan above. [Architectural Record]
• In other news, CNN has a big article called Your Home: Is 'going green' worth the cost?. The sub-head reads: "The eco-friendly house (and renovation) has gone mainstream. But is it really worth the cost?" Yes. [CNN/Money]
• If you tell The Times that your $3.65 million carriage house was a "bargain," you'll probably get publically humiliated on the Internet. Especially if your renovation cost $500 per foot. And especially if you sorta stole the idea for your mega-hit book. [Gawker]
- Max Abelson
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Crain's new big book of lists names the Trump Organization as the largest privately held company in the New York City area.

With projected 2006 revenues of $10.4 billion and 22,500 employees, Trump is the only real estate-related company to make the top 10. (Tishman Construction Corporation is the next closest one, at no. 13.)

The list, however, has its potential problems, which Crain's acknowledges. The 200 companies listed are, well, private, and, therefore, provide and verify much of their own information.

Which might render the Trump Organization's top perch a tad shaky as its namesake may have a jones for pumping up his numbers.  read more »

- Tom Acitelli

Is Donald Trump preparing his exit from The Trump Organization?

At a press conference yesterday to announce a new development in Panama, Mr. Trump wasn't doing most of the talking, despite his propensity for elocution displayed, well, everywhere.

Now settled with model Melania Knauss (whose image graces every corner of Trump Tower) and the proud papa of newborn baby Barron, it seems as though the Donald is bowing out to make room for his other children, Don Jr. and Ivanka, in the family business.

At the event in the atrium of Trump headquarters, a well-spoken Ivanka took the lead in introducing the project. She approvingly nodded her head during each speaker's briefing (even her father's) as if the orchestrator of the show, which she may have well been. The Panamanian partner, Roger Khafif, thanked the young Trump for her efforts in learning about the country and actually visiting Panama.

This isn't the only project that Trump Sr. has taken a back seat on. The largest Trump developments in Chicago and Las Vegas are being headed by Don Jr., who also spearheaded the formation of Trump Mortgage LLC, the Associated Press reported.

In fact, what exactly was the impetus for this AP report? A well planted PR piece or a retirement tip?

Actual development news after the jump.  read more »

- Riva Froymovich