By
John Leland and Luis Ferré-Sadurní
Todd Brassner, who died in a fire at Trump Tower
on Saturday, loved fast cars, electric guitars, expensive watches and
making long, erudite pronouncements about art and art history. He was an
art dealer with health problems and a 2015 bankruptcy that listed his
apartment as the location of more than $3 million worth of artwork and
other collectibles, including a 1975 portrait of Mr. Brassner painted by
Andy Warhol.
Friends
of Mr. Brassner said he had been trying to move since the election of
President Trump in 2016, which brought increased security and activity
to the building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, but he could not sell his
50th-floor apartment, which he estimated to be worth $2.5 million in
2015.
“It
haunts me,” said Stephen Dwire, 67, a musician and music producer who
had been friends with Mr. Brassner since they were 14-year-olds in
Harrison, N.Y., in Westchester County. “He said, ‘This is getting
untenable,’” Mr. Dwire said. “It was like living in an armed camp. But
when people heard it was a Trump building, he couldn’t give it away.”
Mr.
Brassner, 67, lived alone amid a collection of about 100 vintage
electric guitars, 40 guitar amplifiers dating to the 1930s, 150 ukuleles
and artwork by Robert Indiana, Mati Klarwein, Jack Kerouac and others.
Officials
from the Fire Department declined to comment on the damage to Mr.
Brassner’s extensive holdings. On Sunday, they had not determined the
cause of the blaze, which also injured four firefighters.
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Source: The New York Times (via Empire Report New York)
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