Woman Who Dissed Trump for Years Sells—to Icahn

Vera Coking lived next to Trump Plaza, rebuffed the Donald for decades
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 18, 2014 1:50 PM CST
Woman Who Dissed Trump for Years Sells—to Icahn
In this 1997 file photo, Vera Coking walks past Donald Trump, partially obscured against wall at left, at Atlantic County Superior Court in Atlantic City, NJ.   (AP Photo/Allen Oliver, File)

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has bought an Atlantic City property that earned its owner folk hero status for resisting decades of overtures from developers including Donald Trump. Citing real estate records, the Press of Atlantic City reports Icahn's IEH Investments paid $583,000 for Vera Coking's modest three-story boardinghouse at an auction in August. Coking won attention over the years as she repeatedly rebuffed offers from Trump and Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione, as well as an attempted state takeover of her property. She now lives in a California retirement home.

Construction crews are removing asbestos from the building in advance of its demolition. Many of the windows are gone, and the exterior has been wrenched off one side. The home sits next to the now-closed Trump Plaza; Trump had earlier this year demanded the "appalling" casino remove his name. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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