NEW YORK—Donald Trump’s Trump Ferry Point, LLC will help with completing construction on a world-class golf course in the Bronx and will operate it for the first 20 years if the city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) vote to go ahead with the deal next week.
At a FCRC hearing on the matter Monday, Bronx elected officials and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe praised the deal as the only way to finally complete this project, which has been in the works for decades.
“I don’t care if it’s Donald Duck, I don’t care if it’s Donald Trump, I don’t care who it is!” declared Bronx Councilman James Vacca, who just wants to see the course completed by whatever means.
When all is said and done, the Parks Department will have spent $184 million on the whole Ferry Point Park development by the time of its completion in 2014, and $97 million on the golf course that is part of that site, reported Benepe. Trump Ferry Point, LLC will spend $10 million, plus maintenance costs.
But NYC Park Advocates President Geoffrey Croft calls it a “sweetheart deal.”
Trump Ferry Point, LLC will not have to pay the city anything for the first four years. From the fifth year onward, the annual fee starts at $300,000 and rises by $10,000 each year. Croft says Trump will make ample returns on the course once it is running at $100–$125 for a round of golf—compared to $30–$50 at other public courses—and other stipulations in the deal that allow the company to hold private events.
He says taxpayer dollars will be padding Trump’s already full coffers and “the city is unlikely to ever make back its investment.”
“This is anything but a sweetheart deal,” said Trump representative Ronald Lieberman. “We view this as somewhat of a risky deal.”
Benepe says Trump and the Parks Department are forging into unchartered territory. He’s not really sure how much money a PGA-quality golf course will make on a landfill site in the Bronx. Either way, Benepe says, Trump offered the best price for the least amount of time to get the course up and running.
The department issued Requests for Proposals (RFP) in 2007 and 2009 and got no response. It offered a Request for Offer (RFO) in 2010 and Trump extended the best offer out of three interested bidders.
“Donald Trump has a history, whether we like him or not, of getting things done,” said Bronx Assemblyman Steve Kaufman. Trump runs both the Lasky and Wollman skating rinks in Central Park, having rescued them from disrepair and mismanagement in the 1980s. He also revamped the Central Park Carousel after taking it over in 2010.
A Community Board 10 representative expressed support for the deal, noting only that the proposal does not outline security management plans, which the board feels is a concern in the area.
Trump will run some programs to teach local youth how to golf on the course, and Lieberman promised hundreds of temporary and permanent jobs “many of which we will hire locally.” Croft says he did not see any specifics in the licensing agreements about hiring locally to guarantee this promise, and maintains that the “playground for the rich” will not serve the surrounding community.
Croft remained the lone voice of dissent in the hearing, and former Councilwoman Madeline Provenzano, who worked on the golf course development project for her entire 17 years representing the Bronx, is confident the project will finally push through with Trump’s backing and the support of the FCRC in next week’s vote.
