The Trump Organization won a round in court Friday in its battle with New York City over operating a city-owned golf course in the Bronx.
In January 2021, the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio said it was ending the Trump Organization’s contract to operate the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point Park course in the Bronx.
The city’s action had two parts. Legally, it claimed that the course could not attract the caliber of golfing event required by its contract because of the stain upon the organization from the Capitol incursion.
Then there was just plain ol’ Trump-bashing from City Hall.
“It was Donald Trump who interfered with basic democracy when he incited a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol,” City Hall spokesperson Bill Neidhardt said in 2021, according to ABC. “You do that, and you lose the privilege of doing business with the City of New York. It’s as simple as that.”
On Friday, New York State Supreme Court Justice Debra James said that it was very simple — the city never had a legal leg to stand on, according to the New York Post.
Last fall, James had granted a temporary restraining order against the city giving the Trump Organization the heave-ho, which allowed it to keep running the course.
Judge: No, you can't cancel Trump's NYC golf course contracthttps://t.co/3gtASI21Jq pic.twitter.com/iQawOiVoLV
— Jazz Shaw (@JazzShaw) April 9, 2022
According to James’ decision, Ferry Point had no obligation to host any PGA-level tournaments and the city’s claim that it did “lacks any legal foundation,” Politico reported.
“The judge didn’t buy their nonsense, and this is a well-reasoned and appropriate decision, and we look forward to running the best golf course for years to come,” Eric Trump said, according to the Post.
“De Blasio did this for his own political theater,” Eric Trump said. “He wasted tremendous amounts of time and city resources on his own vendetta. He is a disgrace to New York, and everyone is glad he is gone.”
In return, de Blasio fired off a snarly tweet in response to the ruling.
“Donald Trump will be an ignominious figure in US history, regardless of the outcome of today’s decision on Ferry Point. NYC did the right thing by canceling his contract and the City will win this case in the end. The only ‘political vendetta’ here is the one he incited on Jan 6.”
Donald Trump will be an ignominious figure in US history, regardless of the outcome of today’s decision on Ferry Point. NYC did the right thing by canceling his contract and the City will win this case in the end. The only “political vendetta” here is the one he incited on Jan 6.
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) April 8, 2022
Amanda Miller, a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization, praised the decision.
“As we have said since the beginning, the city’s efforts to terminate our long-term license agreement to operate Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point Park were nothing more than a political vendetta,” Miller said in a statement, according to Politico.
“Former Mayor Bill de Blasio used his position to weaponize the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the New York City Law Department all in an effort to advance his own partisan agenda, score political points and interfere with free enterprise,” the statement said.
“This is not just a win for the Trump Organization; this is a win for justice, for the people of the City of New York and for the hundreds of our hard-working employees at Ferry Point,” she said, according to The New York Times.
“Anyone holding a city concession is held to a high standard. We are disappointed in the court’s decision, and we are reviewing our legal options,” a spokesman for the city law department said, Politico reported.
The contract for the course runs through 2035.
The only way the city can boot the Trump Organization now, barring a successful appeal, is to buy out the contract, something that the Trump Organization has said would cost about $30 million.