De Blasio wants Trump’s name out of New York City and it could cost $30M

De Blasio had previously stated on Jan. 13 that he planned to cancel the long-standing concession contracts to operate the carousel and staking rings located within Central Park, and a golf course located in the Bronx. Many critics, then and now, said that this was just another move by De Blasio to boost his image with his progressive base.

However, it was later revealed that the contracts were up for renewal that spring, so it would make more sense to just let them expire, and not incur any interruptions in the skating season, which could anger local residents and lose even more money.

The city entered into a new contract with new operators in the spring of 2021, who immediately raised the rates for rink use and skate and locker rentals. It now costs a family almost 15 percent more for a day of skating in Central Park, according to the New York Post.

As far as the carousel goes, the city remained without having signed a concession with anyone until the end of Jul. 2021, when a deal was reached with Central Amusement International, the same company that already is in charge of Luna Park, the amusement park located at Coney Island Beach.

Because of this, the carousel has been closed up until just recently; it finally opened up again on Oct. 16 2021.

The golf course in question, the Trump Ferry Point Golf Course, is an even bigger embarassment to the city. The Trump team has asked for $30M in cash if the contract were to be breached in the manner De Blasio wants. The contract between the Trump organization and the city still has 13 years left on it.

All of this is due to the fact that the course was partially built by Trump, when then-mayor Michael Bloomberg asked him to take the project over. Trump has pronounced on the issue in public, saying:

"I invested many millions of dollars, all cash, in this project in order to get it done, which I did, starting from scratch, in record time. Now under Mayor De Blasio, he wants to confiscate the project from me for no reason whatsoever and terminate my long-term arrangement with the city."