Donald Trump is currently spending the majority of his time right now sitting in a Manhattan courtroom where he is on trial for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to hush money payments made to his alleged affair partner, adult film star Stormy Daniels, during the 2016 election cycle.
Just around the corner from that courtroom is Donald’s infamous New York Trump Tower, where reports have confirmed he has set up temporary camp while he wades through his highly publicized criminal trial.
With so many eyes on Manhattan right now, The Daily Beast decided to take a deeper look at one of the former president’s most prized properties — and what they found doesn’t look good for Donald at all.
In an expansive collection of truly starting and eye-opening photos from the Daily Beast’s Nell Scovell, readers get a virtual walkthrough of the famous New York Trump Tower — featuring countless empty public spaces, shuttered shops, half-finished construction zones that now appear to be at an endless stand still, and even a dilapidated version of the Trump Organization’s once prized, massive waterfall that is now silent and non-operational.
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Complete with her own deliciously snarky commentary, Scovell walks her readers through what was one the Trump “crown jewel,” which now sees at least the first two stories of the building almost entirely empty, complete with an abandoned currency exchange booth, shuttered retail shops that appear to be under endless construction, and a Trump Tower gift shop that is nothing more than a cluttered disarray of cheesy “Trump 2020” merchandise.
“With the owner and former president back in residence, you might think they’d spruce up the abutting commercial and retail space,” Scovell writes. “You’d be wrong.”
The Beast reporter makes specific note of the massive waterfall in the Trump Tower lobby that was once heavily promoted by the Trump Organization, writing, “One of the most notable features of Trump Tower is the breath-taking 60-foot waterfall embellishing the eastern wall of the building. Today, it’s notable that there’s no water in the waterfall. And a waterfall without water is just a wall.”
She goes on to point to the Trump Cafe, which is now one of many shops inside the Tower under construction, sporting a bizarre sign that reads, “Pardon our appearance.” Scovell spoke with an elderly security guard at the property who told her that the restaurant would “most likely open the second week of May.” However, he then “wiggled his hand in a ‘give or take’ gesture, suggesting not even he believes that will happen.”
“Both public terraces appear to be permanently closed to the public. The lack of public outdoor spaces may be in violation of a deal with the city which traded additional square footage for these gardens. In the smaller exterior space, what’s visible through the window looks sparse and untended,” she goes on to describe before adding, “The large glass doors which once opened up to a second, grander terrace are now mirrored over and locked.”
Perhaps the most shocking, though, was the forlorn black trashcan that Scovell highlighted in her conclusion, sitting lonely and truly bizarre among long-forgotten planters, polished brass, and glass, with only a handful of straggler Trump Tower patrons to be found.
Find Scovell’s full piece with all of the staggering photos here.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery/Flickr – Ajay Suresh, under Creative Commons license 2.0; edits made by Political Tribune Staff
