Judge Debra James ruled on Friday, April 8, that Trump Ferry Point LLC, a firm affiliated with the The Trump Organization, may continue to operate the 18-hole, 222-acre golf course, driving range, clubhouse and ancillary facilities at Ferry Point Park East in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx. The decision is the outcome of a legal case brought by the City of New York in which the City had sought to terminate the contract, following the January 6th riots. The case was heard at the Supreme Court of the State of New York and the decision centered around an absence of precise contractual language in the prevailing contract to support the City’s claim regarding the Trump Organization’s likely inability in the future to fulfill its contractual obligations under the contract.

 

Trump Ferry Point LLC was contracted on Feb. 21, 2012 by the City of New York during the Bloomberg administration to operate the golf links under a 20-year license agreement. A 2011, City-issued press release confirmed the Trump Organization was selected to run the golf links through a public Request for Offers, issued by the Parks Department.

 

“In addition to the primary responsibilities of maintaining and operating a tournament-quality golf course, the Trump Organization has committed to a minimum $10 million capital investment to design and construct a new, state-of-the art golf clubhouse – expected to create 100 new construction jobs,” the press release read at the time.

 

“Ferry Point Park East represents one of the largest pieces of previously undeveloped parkland in New York City, and one of the greatest opportunities for augmenting the City’s recreational resources,” the press release continued. “When complete, the new park will contain the golf course, a community park with playgrounds and ballfields, and a waterfront park with rambling trails and scenic overlooks.”

 

NYC Parks added that the course would be open to the public and would be “the only tournament-quality course in New York City, giving avid golfers a unique and more challenging alternative to the City’s other well-maintained public courses.” The golf course was opened to the public in 2014, and according to the press release, there was an expectation that the long-awaited venture would “bring more people from across the country and around the world to The Bronx.”

 

Following the Jan. 6th insurrection of the U.S. Capitol last year, the De Blasio administration filed legal paperwork on Jan. 15, 2021, seeking to terminate the golf links contract, citing The Trump Organization’s likely inability in the future to fulfill its contractual obligations, which it claimed included attracting major golf tournaments to the venue. The Trump brand was cited as one of the reasons for selecting the company to run the golf links, given The Trump Organization operates many similar golf businesses around the world.

 

*NEW* It appears that the Trump Organization has won its legal case against New York City to keep its contract for the golf course at Ferry Point.

Here’s a statement from the Trump Organization: pic.twitter.com/1cUX2fMkvN

— Emma G. Fitzsimmons (@emmagf) April 8, 2022

 

The Parks’ department cited “the actions of Donald J. Trump and Donald Trump, Jr.” in court paperwork, saying the two men incited the attack on the Capitol. “That attack on our Capitol resulted in five deaths, exposed lawmakers to COVID-19, and threatened the peaceful, constitutional transfer of power,” the court document read. It continued, “Following the actions described above [the Capitol riots], the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) has terminated an agreement to play the 2022 PGA Championship at the Trump Bedminster golf course in New Jersey.”

 

NYC Parks went on to say that the Trump brand was synonymous with Donald J. Trump and that the actions of Jan. 6 destroyed The Trump Organization’s capability to attract tournament quality events, because the Trump brand was now synonymous with an insurrection against the federal government. Then Mayor Bill de Blasio had told NBC in mid-January 2021, in part, “The president committed a criminal act live on television. He incited an insurrection against the United States government. From the point of view of common sense, he should be disqualified by any business, any government.”

 

On Feb. 19, 2021, Donald J. Trump appealed the City’s Notice of Termination on the grounds that, in his view, it lacked any rational basis or evidence. On March 21, the City doubled down on their assertion of potential default by The Trump Organization in fulfilling its contractual obligations, on the basis that the fall out from the January 6th insurrection would impede The Trump’s Organization’s ability to attract tournaments to The Bronx golf links, though the City acknowledged that under the terms of the contract, the Trump Organization had never expressly guaranteed to do so.

 

The court later issued a stay on the case but on April 8, 2022, it found that essentially, the language included in the contract had no specific mention of the word “attract” in reference to the City’s claim that the Trump Organization was obliged to attract world class golf tournaments to the golf links. Similarly, the court found that there was no provision in the agreement requiring The Trump Organization to generate revenue from tournament events, even if there was an expectation on the part of the Parks’ department that this would happen.

 

According to court documents, “evidence outside the four corners of the document as to what was really intended but unstated or misstated is generally inadmissible.” The court also found that the agreement conferred a right but not an obligation upon The Trump Organization to hold such world-class tournaments at the Ferry Point venue.

 

When Norwood News contacted the City Parks’ department, which was representing the City administration in the legal proceedings, for comment on the case in mid-January, a spokesperson said, “We stand by our determination to cancel the Trump Organization’s contracts, an appropriate and lawful decision. We look forward to proceeding with a new vendor at the conclusion of this case.” (An Empire Development Corporation (EDC) spokesperson had informed Norwood News separately that she believed Ferry Point was a Parks’ department property, not an EDC one. “We only built the Ferry Landing there, in coordination with the Parks Dept,” she said.)

 

In a press release dated April 2021, while the legal proceedings were still ongoing, NYC Parks commenced the process of finding a new vendor to run the Ferry Point golf links, under a new 13-year contract, and made a public request for bids.

 

Significantly, the bid announcement included language that required the successful bidder to be “capable of potentially attracting professional tournaments hosted by the Professional Golfers’ Association (“PGA”) and similar organizations,” to the venue. The press release also disclosed that the golf course had been the site of a former landfill and had been constructed under a mayoral funded capital project that included design, construction and environmental remediation costs. NYC Parks announced its expectation to commence the new contract with the new golf operator in November 2021.

The City (news publication) reported in September 2021, that a company called Ferry Point Links LLC were set to be awarded the “slightly more favorable,” 13-year contract to run The Bronx golf links, than the prevailing 20-year agreement in place between NYC Parks and The Trump Organization.

 

According to DNB business directory, Ferry Point Links LLC, created in 2021, is located at 45 Main Street, in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn. The company has one employee across all of its locations and generates an estimated $50,000 in sales (USD). The main principal investor is Jack Brown III and according to Brown’s LinkedIn profile, he is president & CEO of CORE Services Group, one of the City’s biggest homeless shelter operators. The City (news publication) reported that CORE Services Group had received $804 million in government contracts since 2014.

 

An NYC Parks spokesperson reportedly told The City (news publication) that CORE Services Group was set to partner with Atlanta-based firm, Bobby Jones Links, to handle the day-to-day management of The Bronx golf links. The New York Post later reported in October 2021 that NYC Parks was cutting ties with CORE Services, following the uncovering of “questionable practices” by both the organization and by Brown, in managing certain homeless shelter services in New York City.

 

Norwood News reported previously on reported deficiencies on the part of the City administration in overseeing housing shelter providers. In January, we queried with the City’s Parks’ department how a new vendor had been selected, given the ongoing legal proceedings with The Trump Organization. We were informed that the prevailing court-issued stay on the case was, at that time, preventing the transfer of license to the newly selected entity, Bobby Jones Links, but that pending the court ruling, the department intended to move forward with the new vendor.

 

We also queried the vendor selection process. NYC Parks told Norwood News in January that it had met with 14 groups in the context of the bid, though the department said a smaller number responded with a proposal. Parks added that the agency had negotiated the most favorable agreement with Bobby Jones Links. “Their years of experience and commitment to engaging local stakeholders, as well as their plans to hire from within the community, and increase golf accessibility beyond the traditional, will add tremendous value to the game of golf in New York City,” a Parks representative said, in part, at the time.

 

Friday’s court ruling and the apparent holes in the City’s contractual paperwork with vendors appears to spotlight an inability on the part of the City administration to broker airtight, real estate agreements. Instead, it appears to sometimes find itself in protracted court battles with angry counterparties. As reported, the City is also currently undergoing legal proceedings (again) with KNIC Management over the apparently doomed Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) project at The Bronx’s Kingsbridge Armory.

Today we celebrate a very well-deserved victory. Our incredible team is so honored to continue serving the great people of New York and visitors from around the world. We will continue to provide every one of our guests with unprecedented golf experiences for years to come! pic.twitter.com/wY6QOCxzUL

— Trump Ferry Point (@TrumpFerryPoint) April 8, 2022

 

Meanwhile, although the former president is undoubtedly pleased with the ruling on Ferry Point, Friday’s court decision comes a day after New York Attorney General Letitia James took legal action to hold him in contempt for his reported refusal to comply with a court order. The order was issued to the former president to furnish documents in response to a subpoena served on him by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), as part of OAG’s ongoing investigation into his financial dealings. The motion for contempt, filed in New York County State Supreme Court, seeks to impose a $10,000 fine on him for every day he continues to violate the court’s order to produce the documents.

 

“The judge’s order was crystal clear: Donald J. Trump must comply with our subpoena and turn over relevant documents to my office,” said James. “Instead of obeying a court order, Mr. Trump is trying to evade it. We are seeking the court’s immediate intervention because no one is above the law.”

 

 

In February 2022, according to the OAG, the court rejected the former president’s challenge to the subpoena and ruled that he was required to “comply in full” by producing a range of documents to OAG as part of its investigation. Trump was initially ordered to produce those documents by March 3, but OAG agreed to accommodate his request for additional time and extended the date to March 31.

 

Trump reportedly agreed to this timeline, according to the OAG. However, on March 31, he raised a new round of objections to the subpoena and stated that he would not produce any documents, in direct violation of the judge’s order. Under settled law, according to the OAG, a party is not permitted to delay proceedings at such an advanced juncture in the legal process to challenge an investigative subpoena. “Trump does not have the ability to raise these baseless objections at this time,” OAG officials said in an April 7 press release.

 

Cited in the court filed paperwork in relation to the investigation are The Trump Organization, Inc.; DJT Holdings LLC; DJT Holdings Managing Member LLC; Seven Springs LLC; Eric Trump; Charles Martabano; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP; Sheri Dillon; Donald J. Trump; Ivanka Trump; and Donald Trump, Jr. There is no mention of the Ferry Point business in The Bronx.

 

Norwood News contacted the office of the former president, as well as The Trump Organization, for comment on the status of the subpoena. We did not receive an immediate response. We also reached out to legal counsel for the Trump Organization, for comment, following the outcome of the case. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

Meanwhile, an apparent statement from The Trump Organization, shared on social media on Friday by Emma Fitzsimmons of The New York Times, alleged that the City’s notice to terminate the golf links contract was nothing more than a political vendetta. “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 political agenda, score political points among his minions and interfere with free enterprise,” an statement extract read. The full statement can be read in the attached tweet, further above.

 

#BREAKING: In a major victory, a court has ruled in our favor to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court.

Donald Trump must pay $10,000 per day for every day that he continues to defy the court's order to turn over documents to my office. https://t.co/AFAPPrnce4

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) April 25, 2022

 

The Real Deal reported in April 2020 that the Ferry Point golf links had laid off 49 employees, and had closed temporarily due to the pandemic. As of September 2021, Ferry Point golf links reportedly employed between 51 and 200 employees.

 

On April 25, James announced that a court had ruled finally that the former president was in contempt of court and was ordered to pay $10,000 per day for every day he continues to defy the court’s order to turn over documents to the Office of the Attorney General.