Trump Place an enormous rental/condo set of building on the Hudson River named after…Donald Trump. I guess that most of the people who have heard of it are aware of it because it is associated in some way with his show “The Apprentice”. I’ve never seen the show but I heard it was associated with Trump Place in some way.
And I used to live there.
I’ve never met “The Donald”, nor ever even seen him. I know very little about him other than what you get from the media and his omnipresence there. Except one thing…
He’s a good landlord.
Trump Place is located at 69th and the Hudson River. Not quite right: the West Side Highway is between the buildings and the river, but the highway is elevated so there’s easy access to the river. The complex is enormous and goes a lot further north-south than 69th Street, but that’s where I was. 180 Riverside Blvd. Not “Riverside Drive” mind you: Boulevard.
There are a series of buildings in the complex. Here’s a shot of them. Actually, it takes more than two shots to get it all.
It goes on a little further, but they’re still building down there.
You’ll notice one building appears in both photos. That’s my old place. I had the distinct pleasure of having a river view from the 17th floor. Spectacular.
From what I understand, he didn’t own the buildings but did serve as the public face of the group doing the construction.
As a tenant, I wanted for very little. This was a full-service kind of place. The rents were pretty hefty when I rented, but on par with other places in the city I looked at (sub-$3,000 per month including lease incentives). The staff was incredible. Absolutely incredible. If Donald is a proud man, that’s what he should be proud of: he hired some really good people.
We’re talking doormen, concierges, porters (cleaning crew), security, and maintenance people. Wonderful.
The concierges were the key. They knew everybody’s name. They knew the kids’ names. They knew the dogs’ names. They knew the birthdays. Honest, well-spoken, friendly, and informative. The doormen and maintenance people I now have are very good, but I can’t compare them to the Trump people; it wouldn’t be fair. (Okay, a couple of them are really good, but they don’t have the name-thing down.)
I never opened the door myself. I would be greeted by name in all but the crazyist times.
They’d replace my lightbulbs for me (very high ceilings). And they’d bring their own lightbulbs.
Everytime a food delivery was made, a security person would accompany the delivery. And stand well back during the delivery so there wasn’t a question of handing out two tips. Little things like that count for a lot.
The laundry was open 24/7 with lots of washers and dryers. Like I said…it’s the little things.
I’ve been planning to write a post with minimal pictures. I didn’t know it would be this one. I’ve wanted to write this sort-of-paean to Trump Place ever since I heard a Chicagoan say some less than favorable statements about Donald. I kicked myself for not chiming in “hey, he’s a great landlord”.
There was only one time that I had any problems: when I left. It took me months to get my deposit back, but Trump Place was sold during the time that I was leaving so I didn’t really resent the confusion that was going on. And all the staff were always top notch, even the ones who were having a hard time tracking down my money. Like I said, Donald hires good people.
Oh yeah, one day I ran into a woman whom I think was either Miss USA or Miss Universe. That’s a nice perk of living in such a place.
-H
Famous Ankles 