Donald Trump accused New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio of working to terminate the lease for his Bronx golf course for 'no reason' on Tuesday.
De Blasio vowed to break the city's ties to Trump over the January 6 Capitol riot. Part of that includes ending his contract at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point years before its 2035 expiry.
New York gave Trump just until November 15 to clear out.
A heated public hearing on Tuesday saw numerous people criticize the city for ending its lucrative contract over a 'political vendetta,' and a lawyer for the golf course accused de Blasio of trying to saddle New Yorkers with a $30 million tax bill 'just to get rid of the name.'
'He wants to CONFISCATE the project from me for no reason whatsoever, and terminate my long-term arrangement with the city—and to think I just opened a beautiful $10 million clubhouse,' Trump wrote of de Blasio in an emailed statement through his Save America PAC.
'The course has received rave reviews, is considered one of the top ten open to the public facilities in the United States (could even be the best!), is designed for tournament play, and Mayor De Blasio wants to take it away after all of the work was so successfully done, and so much money was spent.'
He added, 'So unfair—this is what happens in Communist Countries, not in America!'
Trump also lauded those who helped him get the project off the ground.
Trump is accusing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio of 'confiscating' his Bronx golf course despite it being a source of revenue and jobs for the city
'It was an amazing effort by many people pulling together to finally revitalize this troubled part of New York City,' he said.
The 220-acre plot of land in New York's Bronx borough was a landfill for decades before former Mayor Rudy Giuliani orchestrated a deal in 2000 to develop it into a luxury golf course.
Environmental concerns and contract disputes forced the original developers to drop out and the city, desperate to complete the project, secured a deal with the Trump Organization to take it over.
After opening in 2015 the Ferry Point course has had a mostly profitable run and became a setting for professional golf tournaments, pumping money into the local economy.
But after the Capitol riot, a number of groups including the Professional Golf Association moved to sever ties with Trump - and the city of New York followed suit.
The PGA canceled its 2022 championship set for a different Trump golf course in New Jersey.
City officials said that Trump could no longer argue he can attract prestigious tournaments to the Bronx course as is required in the contract following the negative publicity surrounding the Capitol riot.
Trump's team said the contract doesn´t require it to attract tournaments, only obliging it maintain a course that is 'first-class, tournament quality.'
The Trump Organization sued the City of New York in June claiming the termination was done for purely political reasons.
Trump opened Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in 2015 after being given a good deal by the city to take over the land
City officials said that Trump could no longer argue he can attract prestigious tournaments to the Bronx course as is required in the contract because of negative publicity surrounding the Capitol riot
Trump Organization lawyers have argued that the Capitol riot should have nothing to do with golf (pictured in 2015 at a golf tournament hosted at his Bronx course)
Trump representatives argue that the city would owe them at least $30 million - the money they put into refurbishing and building up the site - if they ended the contract. In a recent court filing, the city appeared to agree they would pay them an early contract termination penalty if necessary but disputed the figure.
In the meantime, the city is working desperately to find a new contractor to take over the course.
At a public hearing on Tuesday, representatives for the president's company, employees as well as private citizens lined up to accuse New York's mayor of putting politics ahead of New Yorkers.
Kenneth Caruso, a lawyer for Trump Ferry Point, LLC, questioned why a 'lame duck' mayor was being allowed to make decisions that would affect citywide finances.
De Blasio's second and final term as mayor is over at the end of December.
'We suggest that this Committee would not, and should not, facilitate a $30 million payment to indulge the preferences or priorities, political or substantive, of any lame duck, at any level of government in this City,' Caruso said in his planned statement.
'We submit, the taxpayers of this City should not be required to pay $30 million, or some amount (in the City’s calculation) even approaching $30 million, just to get rid of the name “Trump” at a golf course.'
At another point in the hearing someone who identified as an employee of Trump's Bronx course said he was there from the beginning and his 'blood, sweat and tears went into the property.'
He lamented that the course was being 'taken away for something that's not our fault as employees' but rather a suspected political goal.
'I don't know how else to convey that other than it's really, really disappointing,' he said.
Another employee of the course questioned why the city was rushing to meet a self-imposed November deadline before the matter could be decided in court.
'Why are we wasting the time and energy? Because someone has a vendetta? That's not how American democracy is supposed to work,' they said.
De Blasio's fellow city officials were also part of the barrage of criticism against him.
The Trump Organization claims it spent $30 million enhancing the space, which the city would owe if it terminated the contract early. City officials dispute the figure
Albert D'Angelo, chairman of Bronx
