The City Council is putting pressure on the Adams administration over a controversial, Saudi Arabia-backed golf tournament taking place next month at Trump Golf Links in the Bronx.
Many on the Council want to pull the plug on the tournament and on Trump’s contract to operate the course, but City Hall says it’s not so simple.
“Public parkland should not be in the hands of Donald Trump or his criminal enterprise,” Queens Councilmember Shekar Krishnan said at a hearing Thursday.
The public parkland in question is Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx. Members of the City Council say the city has grounds to terminate its contract with the Trump Organization, thanks in large part to its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleading guilty to tax fraud and other charges last month.
What’s more, the course is hosting a women’s golf tournament next month linked to the Saudi government, prompting outrage from some 9/11 families who point to Saudi ties to the terror attacks.
“The cruelty and callousness of these golfers and a former president is shocking,” said Dennis McGinley of 9/11 Justice, a coalition of victims’ family members and first responders.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams backs the move.
“The Trump-operated golf course hosting a golf tournament sponsored by the Saudi government just weeks after the 21st anniversary of this country’s most devastating event ever is insensitive to say the least,” Speaker Adams said.
The Mayor Eric Adams administration declined to appear at a Council hearing Thursday. A City Hall spokesperson, Maxwell Young, said the hearing was called on short notice and that city officials were advised against testifying because of potential litigation.
Taking aim at Speaker Adams on Twitter, Maxwell wrote:
“Lets be clear — the route @CMShekarK and @NYCSpeakerAdams are urging would require us to pay many millions of dollars to the Trump Organization. They know that. Their own witness confirmed it.”
You called this hearing on 48 hours notice. Our legal team advised attending might harm us in future litigation, which we shared with you. We submitted written testimony which reminded you your suggestion could cause the city to pay millions to the Trump Org. https://t.co/OgJdsog5BW
— Maxwell Young (@maxwellcyoung) September 15, 2022
But the amount of any termination fee is in dispute.
“The notion that terminating the license would come at significant cost to the city is false. It is a talking point that comes directly from Eric Trump,” Krishnan said.
The Trump Organization, meanwhile, is defiant.
“We should be thanked for what we have accomplished for the Bronx in particular and for the city of New York as a whole,” said Ronald Lieberman, the company’s executive vice president.
A company executive testified that the recent outrage is political, given that the same tournament was held in Long Island last year without incident.
“Fortune 500 companies do business with the Saudi government. It’s just part of doing business. And the biggest companies in the world, right here in New York,” Lieberman added. “What’s the difference? Trump.”