Trump name coming off a NYC golf course in multimillion dollar deal with Bally’s
Written by ABC AUDIO on September 8, 2023
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump’s name is coming off a golf course in the Bronx that had been the subject of a legal battle with the City of New York following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Bally’s is buying Trump out of his lease, which allows him to operate Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, sources familiar with the deal told ABC News.
Terms of the deal were not immediately clear but the sources said it’s well into the millions.
“We are supportive of the transfer of the Ferry Point Golf Course to Bally’s, and we are confident they will deliver a high-quality golfing experience to New Yorkers,” the New York City Parks Department said in a statement.
The contract submission was given to the comptroller’s office from the Parks Department on Aug. 23. It was reviewed and registered in two weeks.
“I am delighted that Trump’s name will no longer deface city parkland,” New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said.
A representative for the Trump Organization declined to comment. Bally’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bally’s is expected to continue to operate Ferry Point as a golf course, which is partially visible from the Whitestone Bridge, but rename it, the sources said.
Trump is nine years into a 20-year lease that the city, under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, tried to terminate after the riot at the US Capitol. A judge ultimately sided with the Trump Organization and reversed the city’s decision.
“It is almost certainly the case, as in most long-term relationships, contractual or otherwise, that the parties a decade ago, with a different — third consecutive term municipal administration — and underdeveloped parkland, did not foresee the breakdown in such relationship rendered adversarial, which is represented by the dispute herein,” the 2022 decision said.
The deal with Bally’s is similar to the one Trump reached with Hilton to buy him out of his lease with the federal government to operate the old Post Office in Washington, D.C. It has since been converted to a Waldorf-Astoria property.
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