Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday that the City of New York is taking steps to terminate the Trump Organization’s contract to run the city’s Ferry Point Golf Course – also known as Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point – as well as contracts to operate the Central Park Carousel and two skating rinks.
The decision came a week after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol while a joint session of Congress prepared to formalize the 2020 election results favoring Joe Biden. Five people died in the assault on the Capitol, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Ferry Point opened in 2015 in the Bronx. Built on an old landfill, it ranks No. 2 in New York on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play state-by-state list for public-access layouts. The course sits near the Whitestone Bridge and offers views of Manhattan.
“The President incited a rebellion against the United States government that killed five people and threatened to derail the constitutional transfer of power,” de Blasio said in a statement announcing the city’s plan to cancel the contracts. “The City of New York will not be associated with those unforgivable acts in any shape, way or form, and we are immediately taking steps to terminate all Trump Organization contracts.”
The statement by the city said it could take several months to terminate the contract at Ferry Point. The other contracts can be ended sooner.
Eric Trump, the outgoing President’s son who has been part of management for Trump Organization after his father ascended to the Presidency in 2016, replied with a statement to several media outlets, including NBC News.
“Yet another example of Mayor de Blasio’s blatant disregard for the facts,” Eric Trump said. “The City of New York has no legal right to end our contracts, and if they elect to proceed, they will owe the Trump Organization over $30 million. This is nothing more than political discrimination, an attempt to infringe on the first amendment and we plan to fight vigorously.”
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Counting Ferry Point, Trump owns or operates 19 golf properties around the world, stretching from Scotland to Dubai. Twelve of those are in the U.S.
The mayor’s announcement wasn’t the first blow to the Trump Organization’s golf operations since the Jan. 6 riot. The PGA of America announced Sunday that it was removing the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump National Golf Club in Westchester, New York. The R&A, which governs the game in much of the world away from the United States, followed with a statement that Trump Turnberry in Scotland would not host the British Open any time soon.