Council members move to end Trump’s contracts with NYC
New York to Trump: Get lost!
The city would move to end its contracts with the Trump Organization under a resolution expected to be introduced Thursday by Manhattan Councilman Mark Levine.
“If New York City isn’t good enough for you to live in, then it’s not good enough for you to run businesses in. We want you out now!” the Dem said of Trump, who recently changed his legal residence from Manhattan to Palm Beach, Fla.
The non-binding resolution calls on Mayor de Blasio not to renew renew the Trump Organization’s four contracts with the city and cites a litany of grievances — from alleged constitutional violations to a recent state attorney general investigation finding Trump misused his charitable foundation.
“It’s just a matter of profound offense to most New Yorkers that our city has given four lucrative Parks (Department) concessions to the Trump Organization,” Levine said.
“The Trump Organization is a company that is deeply entangled in a criminal conspiracy and there is ample precedent for Parks concession contracts being cancelled on such grounds,” he added.
He was referring to the recent conviction of Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who last year pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other wrongdoing on his boss’ behalf.
Levine’s resolution states that the Trump Organization’s contracts to run two skating rinks and a carousel at Central Park, along with the Trump Golf Links in the Bronx, mark a violation of the Constitution, which bars the president from getting money or other “emoluments” from either U.S. or foreign governments.
The resolution cites an analysis from the Constitutional Accountability Center saying, “business contracts that predate a President’s term in office that result in the President receiving profits beyond the President’s fixed income may conflict with the Domestic Emoluments Clause.”
Lawsuits over Trump’s business at his hotel in Washington, D.C., where guests have included reps of foreign governments, have largely floundered.
But Levine said the case is “even stronger when it’s business with a government entity” — namely, the city’s Parks Department.
Trump’s contracts to run the Central Park sites are up for renewal in 2021, Levine said. The sweetheart city deal for Trump’s money-losing Bronx golf course runs through 2032.
New Yorkers’ widespread loathing of the president has prompted the Trump Organization to remove its name from a number of its properties and projects, including the Central Park amenities.
But the de Blasio administration’s recent efforts to end the city’s four contracts went nowhere, and Parks Department lawyers told Levine there was no way to cancel the deals outright.
“We still dispute that,” the councilman said. “But as 2021 approaches, that question becomes less relevant and our fight has to be that we just don’t renew these.”
He pointed to the city’s 2007 move to end a contract with a vendor at golf course in Marine Park, Queens, based on allegations the vendor was mobbed-up, as a precedent for nixing Trump deals.
The president’s son Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, dismissed Levine’s resolution.
“It is unfortunate that anyone sees the need to make this political,” Eric Trump said in a statement. “For over 20 years, The Trump Organization has been a partner of New York City and has saved many iconic assets, such as Wollman Rink and Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, which were deeply distressed and in sad financial ruin. Under our leadership, those assets have become the pride and joy of our great city.
“We are honored to be partnered with the city, and we will continue to do an outstanding job. We look forward to making New York proud for many years to come.”
Councilwomen Margaret Chin and Carlina Rivera, both Manhattan Dems, are co-sponsoring the resolution.
“While Trump continues to deflect any accountability around his shady business dealings, New York City has an opportunity to take action right here, right now in our turf against his egregious corruption and abuse of power,” Chin said in a statement. “We refuse to tolerate an Administration that’s hell-bent on scamming the American people for personal profit.”