Trump Organization Shifts Bronx Golf Course to Casino Company with New York City Aspirations
NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump Organization has sold its right to operate a public golf course in the Bronx, city officials confirmed, transferring control of the public property to a company that wants to build a casino in New York City.
Bally’s Corporation, a gaming and entertainment company, will take over management of the 18-hole course known as Trump Golf Links Ferry Point, according to a spokesman for the city’s comptroller. Terms of the lease transfer were not immediately available.
The deal appeared to be a solution to the city’s fight to shed its association with the former president, whose bold name has greeted drivers passing the track on the Whitestone Bridge for years.
After the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would do so terminate the contract with the Trump Organization, claiming that Trump’s incitement of rioters gave the city the legal authority to do so.
This argument was rejected by a state judge last year, a ruling that would have allowed the Trump Organization to operate the space until its lease expires in 2035.
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News of the Trump Organization’s decision to voluntarily waive its operating rights sparked cheers from some New York Democrats.
In a statement, city Comptroller Brad Lander said he was “pleased that Trump’s name will no longer blight the city’s parkland.”
Email queries to Bally’s and the Trump Organization were not returned.
Earlier this year, Bally’s told the New York Times that this was the case reached an agreement They wanted to take over a smaller portion of the property and promised to only remove Trump’s name if they received one of the coveted casino licenses.
Under the new agreement, Bally’s will assume all operations, management and maintenance of the golf course and release the Trump Organization from any interest in the property, according to the comptroller’s spokesman.
The deal was approved by both the comptroller and the city’s parks department.
“We support the transfer of Ferry Point Golf Course to Bally’s and are confident that they will provide New Yorkers with a high-quality golf experience,” Parks Department spokesman Dan Kastanis said in a statement.
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