The collision of business and politics was on display in New York on Wednesday, as the Trump name was being taken off three large apartment complexes owned by billionaire Sam Zell's Equity Residential.

Workers were removing the golden words "Trump Place" from the buildings on Riverside Boulevard on the Upper West Side, following the Republican businessman's election as president last week.

In an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Zell said the name change — in the works for more than a year — resulted from the expiration of an agreement with Donald Trump. "We are basically renaming the buildings according to the street," Zell said.