New York City elected officials are celebrating the Trump Organization’s decision to sell its lease on a public golf course that will see the former president’s name removed from one of his flagship properties.
Eric Trump announced the sale of Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point Park to Bally’s Corporation in a statement on Tuesday, bringing an end to a two-and-a-half-year legal battle with the city.
“While we had no prior intention of selling this trophy asset, Bally’s Corporation stepped in and made us an exceptional offer,” Mr Trump said.
The Trump Organization’s operation of the publicly owned golf course in the Bronx, which enjoys sweeping views over the Manhattan skyline, came under scrutiny after the Capitol riots in January 2021.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to remove any association between the city and the Trump family, claiming that Donald Trump’s incitement of rioters provided it with the legal authority to do so.
That was later rejected by a state judge, who ruled last year that the Trump Organization could continue to run the course until its lease expired in 2035.
Bally’s plans to build a casino on the site, and made stripping the Trump name from the course a central feature of its bid for one of three new casino licenses in New York.
City Comptroller Brad Lander hailed the fact the prominent Trump Links signage would no longer greet drivers passing by the Whitestone Bridge.
The Trump name will be removed from Trump Golf Links, at Ferry Point New York— (Associated Press)
“Delighted that Trump’s name will no longer deface city parkland,” he wrote on X.
In a statement, Trump Organization executive vice president Eric Trump praised the success of the joint partnership with the city.
“After the City wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money in its prior failed attempts to complete this project, at the request of Mayor Bloomberg and the NYC Parks Department, The Trump Organization delivered to the people of the City of New York what has been widely recognised as one of the most magnificent public golf experiences anywhere in the world,” Mr Trump said in a statement.
“We wish them tremendous luck and are confident that Bally’s will continue to operate this exceptional facility in the same world-class manner,” he added.
A sale price has not been disclosed, but the New York Times reported it was likely to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
The golf course will remain open to the public.
In January 2021, Mayor De Blasio terminated city contracts with the Trump Organisation to run the Wollman and Lasker ice rinks in Central Park.
