The Trump Organization accused the de Blasio administration of canceling its lucrative Bronx golf course contract because of a long-running political vendetta the lefty mayor has against the former president, according to a suit filed Monday.
In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the Trump Organization’s operator, Trump Ferry Point LLC, accused the city’s Department of Parks and Recreations of using the Jan. 6 Capitol riots as an excuse to end their business deal.
“Mayor de Blasio had a pre-existing, politically-based predisposition to terminate Trump-related contracts, and the city used the events of January 6, 2021 as a pretext to do so,” the suit charges.
After the siege, the city claimed the Trump Organization’s “tarnished brand” would stop it from being able to attract professional tournaments to the Bronx course, which they said is a violation of the lease terms, the court papers allege.
But the suit states the contract doesn’t specify that the golf course must be able to hold a tournament — and even if it did, the suit adds, all the accolades and support that the course receives across the country and internationally prove that it is capable of hosting this type of event.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced soon after the Capitol riot that the city planned to cancel the golf course contract, as well as contracts for three other successful attractions that the Trump Organization held with the city — including the famed Central Park Carousel, the Wollman Rink and the Lasker Rink.
The rinks were set to be closed weeks ahead of its normal shutting date, but Hizzoner abruptly reversed course in February.
While the golf contract was set to run for roughly 14 more years, the city plans to terminate the lease effective Nov. 14, 2021, the court papers say.
If the city doesn’t prove the Trump Organization violated the agreement and ends it early anyway, the city would owe the company roughly $30 million, the court documents claim.
Trump Ferry Point “has fully complied with, and continues fully to comply with, its obligation to operate the licensed premises as a first class, tournament quality daily fee golf course,” the court papers say.
The Trump Organization opened the golf course, which was a former landfill for nearly 50 years, in April 2015 after signing a contract with the city in 2012, the filing states.
The city had been trying to get the golf course up and running since 2000 but had a number of failed attempts to attract developers, the suit explains.
The Trump Organization invested more than $30 million in the golf course including opening a $13 million “first-class, state-of-the-art clubhouse to the public,” in March 2019, the court papers say.
The company is asking for the contract to be reinstated and is seeking other unspecified damages.
“The city has no right to terminate our contract,” a spokesperson for the Trump Organization said in a prepared statement. “Mayor de Blasio’s actions are purely politically motivated, have no legal merit, and are yet another example of the mayor’s efforts to advance his own partisan agenda and interfere with free enterprise.”
“But for our involvement, New Yorkers would still be looking at an environmental eyesore instead of a spectacular, world-class golf facility,” the statement continues.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said they did nothing wrong in canceling the contract.
“The City properly followed the termination process detailed in the contract and we look forward to selecting a new vendor for Ferry Point that will further the best interests of New Yorkers,” the spokesperson said.
City Hall and the Parks and Recreation deferred comment to the Law Department.