NEW YORK — He lost the White House. Now he may lose his glitzy towers.
Donald Trump’s New York real estate portfolio could be one painful price he pays after a Manhattan Supreme Court justice found that the former president flagrantly overvalued his net worth and assets.
The decision, issued by Justice Arthur Engoron on Tuesday, is still being interpreted and could be undercut by an appeal promised by Trump’s legal team.
But a portion of the ruling essentially ordered Trump and his family to relinquish their businesses in New York.
On its face, the decision could force Trump to give up control of coveted properties, including the gold-plated Trump Tower on 5th Ave., and 40 Wall Street, a valuable and recognizable neo-gothic lower Manhattan skyscraper with a mint-green roof.
A lawyer for Trump, Christopher Kise, said in a statement that Engoron’s ruling aims to “seize control of private property,” and that the Trump family would appeal for “remedies to rectify this miscarriage of justice.” In court on Wednesday, Kise asked the judge to clarify the reach of the ruling.
But Engoron declined to say whether Trump’s iconic New York real estate assets had to be sold under the order, or could be managed by a court-appointed monitor. Legal experts disagreed on whether the ruling amounted to a clear overreach.
Joshua Stein, a prominent New York commercial real estate lawyer, said that “it’s a long, slow slog between this one adverse ruling” and an outcome that would dislodge the real estate holdings from Trump.
But if Trump Tower is sold, Stein said, the former president would likely try to keep his name on the building, which also houses apartments, restaurants and commercial space. “Trump Tower” screams in blocky gold lettering above the mixed-use tower’s entryway.
No New York building is more associated with Trump than the 58-floor skyscraper located between 57th…
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