WHAT’S in a name? For three New York City apartment buildings, it’s no longer “Trump.” Workers pried 3-foot-high gold letters spelling “Trump Place” off the buildings on Wednesday.

In some places, a shadow of the old name still lingered. The workers scraped and power-washed the surface where the letters had been.

New signage now displays the buildings’ street addresses, at 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard on the Upper West Side.

media_camera “You’re fired.” Picture: Seth Wenig

media_camera Letters lie on the sidewalk after workers removed Trump signage Picture: Bryan R. Smith

Hundreds of residents had signed a petition to remove the name after the release of a recording of Donald Trump boasting about kissing women without their consent.

“The building is beautiful, the service is impeccable,” Marjorie Jacobs told Bloomberg in October. “But the name is very embarrassing. I’m embarrassed to tell people where I live.”

Mr Trump does not actually own a stake in the apartments, which were built by a Hong Kong-based developer under license.

media_camera Workers remove the letters. Picture: Bryan R. Smith media_camera One down. Picture: Seth Wenig

The deal included a contractual obligation, which has now expired, to display the Trump name on the building.

“We are assuming a more neutral building identity that will appeal to all current and future residents,” landlord Equity Residential told Bloomberg.

Chairman Sam Zell told The New York Times the petition signed by tenants had “no role” in the decision.

Meanwhile in Russia, residents of a town called Ryazan want to name a street after Mr Trump, circulating a Change.org petition to change the name of 2nd Bezbozhnaya Street to the Street of Donald Trump.

Originally published as Trump’s name removed from buildings