美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Organization Cuts Ties To Controversial SoHo Hotel

Trump¹ Organization Cuts Ties To Controversial SoHo Hotel

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The Trump Organization said today it's cutting ties with one of its New York City hotel properties. The 46-story Trump SoHo has been plagued by questions about its financing from the time it was completed in 2008. And since the election, there have been signs its revenues have fallen. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE²: The company said it would sever³ its contract with the California firm that owns most of the hotel by the end of this year. The Trump Organization doesn't own the property itself. But it manages the hotel, and it gets paid a price for the use of the Trump brand name.

The building is a hybrid⁴ hotel-condo located near the upscale neighborhood of SoHo. Investors⁵ are allowed to live in the units for part of the year, but mostly the units are rented out as hotel rooms. The Trump SoHo was opened in a flurry of publicity⁶. Trump himself announced the project on an episode of "The Apprentice⁷."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE APPRENTICE")

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Located in the center of Manhattan's chic⁸ artist enclave, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in SoHo is the site of my latest development.

ZARROLI: But the hotel faced strong opposition⁹ from neighborhood groups, and questions were raised about Bayrock, the firm that co-developed it. Among the principals of that firm was Felix Sater, a Russian-born former felon¹⁰ with ties to organized crime. A lawsuit¹¹ filed by one of the firm's executives alleged¹² that Bayrock was kept alive by money laundering¹³ and tax evasion¹⁴.

Trump himself was also sued by some of the building's buyers who said he had misrepresented the number of units sold. Trump later settled the suits, giving the buyers back nearly all of their money. After the real estate crash, Bayrock defaulted on a loan and was forced to give up the building, but Trump's name stayed on it. In recent years, there have been signs the property has struggled financially. Only a small number of the units have been sold to investors, and the main restaurant closed earlier this year. The restaurant's lawyers say it had struggled since Trump's election.

More recently, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating the Trump campaign's ties to Russia and money laundering by Trump associates, and that has focused new attention on the property. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

4 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

8 chic   

n./adj.别致(的)，时髦(的)，讲究的

参考例句：

• She bought a chic little hat.她买了一顶别致的小帽子。
• The chic restaurant is patronized by many celebrities.这家时髦的饭店常有名人光顾。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 felon   

n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的

参考例句：

• He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
• Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。

11 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

13 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。