Donald J. Trump State Park
Noted: There is a Donald J. Trump State Park in New York State. Yep, that Donald Trump.
The park is basically a strip of undeveloped land along the Taconic Parkway in Putnam and Westchester counties. Trump donated it to the state in 2002 after a plan to build a golf course there fizzled. From a 2010 NYT article about Trump being miffed the park was on the state's closure list during budget cuts back then:
In Yorktown, in 2002, Mr. Trump withdrew plans to build a $10 million private golf course on land that included significant portions of wetlands, after encountering strict environmental restrictions and permitting requirements. He blamed the Yorktown supervisor, Linda Cooper, for thwarting his plans, telling her in a letter that she had "done a terrible disservice" to her constituents.
In an interview on Wednesday, Ms. Cooper, who has since left office, said that Mr. Trump "just didn't want to go through the rules."
"He called me, at one point," she recalled, "and said, 'Linda, just let me build the golf course -- I'm rich, you'll like it.'"
Mr. Trump said at the time that the land, zoned for residential use, was worth roughly $100 million, and that he could have sold it to a developer.
He gave it to the public instead, at the suggestion of his children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, because, he said, it was "the best thing to do."
Buzzfeed reported today that state Senator Daniel Squadron, a Democrat from NYC, is pushing the Cuomo admin to rename the park -- "Bigotry has no place in presidential politics and certainly shouldn't be honored with a state park naming." There's a also a change.org petition to rename the park "to...anything else."
By the way: Donald J. Trump State Park is just a few miles of north of Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. And the two parks share a "friends of" org.
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Comments
Please please please name it "YUUUUUGE State Park". Or possibly "Combover the Taconic"
... said -B on Dec 14, 2015 at 3:57 PM | link
Let's make state parks great again!
... said Bob on Dec 14, 2015 at 4:02 PM | link
We could build a wall around it (to block the sound of traffic from the Taconic). And make him pay for it, of course.
... said Just A Guy on Dec 15, 2015 at 10:30 AM | link
"Please please please name it "YUUUUUGE State Park". "
They can't do that. Everyone will think it's Billy Fucillo State Park.
... said chezjake on Dec 15, 2015 at 1:35 PM | link