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Renowned art dealer Todd Brassner, who grew up in Harrison, was reportedly unable to sell his $2.5 million Trump Tower apartment on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan before his death in the Saturday night fire. He reportedly began efforts to sell the residence following President Donald Trump’s election in 2016.
The four-alarm fire broke out in the 58-story high rise shortly before 6 p.m. on April 7, taking Brassner’s life. Brassner was found unconscious and unresponsive by firefighters before being transported to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"The apartment was entirely on fire," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. "Members pushed in heroically, they were knocking down the fire and found one occupant of the apartment who is in critical condition."
According to the New York Times report, Brassner’s apartment in Trump Tower did not have sprinklers installed, which were not required when it was constructed in 1983. Trump reportedly lobbied against a proposed bill requiring high-rise buildings to install such systems in 1999, stating they were unnecessary and would cost $4 per square foot per apartment.
A Harrison native, Brassner was a 1969 graduate of the New Rochelle Academy, a private school that closed in 1987.
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