Trump International Hotel Lays Off 70 Workers Amid Coronavirus
UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on at least one Trump Organization business in New York City.
The Trump International Hotel and Tower on Central Park West had to temporarily lay off 70 of its workers after COVID-19 created "unforeseeable business circumstances" for the hotel and condo tower, according to records from the New York Department of Labor.
The Upper West Side tower is one of many New York City hotels that are laying off employees as the coronavirus pandemic devastates the industry. Union leaders estimate that the pandemic could lead to 95 percent of the hotel industry's workers losing their jobs.
Details about the Trump Hotel lay-offs, which happened March 23, were made available on the Department's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices this week, along with new lay-off notices for at least eight other New York City hotels.
(To keep up with coronavirus news in the Upper West Side, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)
Trump's Central Park hotel seemed to be on the lower end for the number of workers who lost their jobs.
More than 150 workers lost their jobs at The Mark Hotel on East 77th Street and the Marriott's Residence Inn Central Park Hotel. 1 Hotel Central Park laid off 146 people, Hôtel Plaza Athénée on East 64th Street laid off 140 and Royalton Park Avenue hotel laid off 73, the records show.
The notice does not include what percentage of Trump Hotel staff the 70 workers account for or which positions they held. The hotel recently closed its restaurants, in-room dining, fitness center, pool, and spa because of restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to its website.
The Trump Organization — which has also filed a WARN notice about 49 lay offs at its Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx — has come under fire for not taking efforts to help during the coronavirus pandemic even as President Donald Trump urges other private businesses to do so.
An analysis by ProPublica found no sign of civic-minded steps at seven hotel properties and dozen U.S. country clubs owned by the Trump Organization, including the Central Park West hotel.
The hotel, for example, has not made any of its 176 rooms and suites available for emergency use by medical personnel or noncritical patients, according to a list of those that answered Gov. Andrew Cuomo's call to do so.
As of Tuesday, it was still selling room reservations for $525 or more per night.
A hotel staff member reached by voicemail and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to requests for details.
This article originally appeared on the Upper West Side Patch
