Richard Laltrelli

Before last night's Community Board 2, representatives for the proposed Trump International Hotel and Tower (to be located at 246 Spring Street) nervously paced the linoleum halls of Housing Works, at 320 West 13th Street, thumbing at cell phones and BlackBerries.

Unfortunately, Sean Yazbeck, the most recent Apprentice winner--who the Donald has tapped to manage the project--was not in attendance.

As The Real Estate reported yesterday, community activists led by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation are opposing the Trump-led plan to build 45-story condo-hotel in Hudson Square.

At the heart of their opposition is the claim that the newest Trump Tower would violate zoning laws by placing permanent residences in an area zoned for manufacturing.

Last night, GVSHP's Andrew Berman told the gathering of about sixty Village residents that the project is a "Trojan horse" and a "back-door method to sneak in illegal development."

Berman began his self-described "spiel" by asking those in attendance to raise their hands if they opposed the Trump venture. As in a first-grade class obeying its teachers, a roomful of hands shot up.  read more »