Trump Organization sues New York City over cancellation of contracts

The Trump Organization filed a lawsuit this week against the city of New York, more than five months after Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would revoke contracts the business had with the city, including one to operate a golf course in the Bronx.

The New York Times reported the business founded by former President Donald Trump filed the suit claiming de Blasio had long sought to cancel contracts and used the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as an excuse to do so.

The lawsuit focuses only on Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point.

One week after the riots, which occurred as Congress verified the 2020 Electoral College totals showing Trump lost his reelection bid to current President Joe Biden, de Blasio announced the cancellation of the Ferry Point contract as well as once for the Trump Organization to operate the Central Park Carousel and two skating rinks in the city.

“The President incited a rebellion against the United States government that killed five people and threatened to derail the constitutional transfer of power,” de Blasio said in a Jan. 13 statement. “The City of New York will not be associated with those unforgivable acts in any shape, way or form, and we are immediately taking steps to terminate all Trump Organization contracts.”

The city awarded the contract with The Trump Organization in February 2012 to operate the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course at Ferry Point Park. The course officially opened to the public in 2015.

The Times reported Monday that city officials gave The Trump Organization a more specific reason for terminating the contract, which was supposed to run until April 2032.

After the Capitol riot, other organizations sought to dissociate with the Trump brand. That included the PGA of America, which pulled the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., a couple of days before de Blasio announced the city’s move.

As a result of the PGA’s decision, the newspaper said the city canceled the Trump contract because it had not landed a major golf tournament to the New York course and Trump’s connection to the riot made it less likely to happen.

In the lawsuit, Trump officials say there was no mandate to land a tournament, rather only to operate a tournament-style course.

Last month, the New York State Attorney General’s office notified the business that a civil inquiry into its operations had become a criminal matter as well.