THROGS NECK — Donald Trump's company is still trying to expand his golf course into public land in The Bronx, arguing that the city's current plan for the area will put residents at risk of being hit by golf balls.
At a Bronx Community Board 10 meeting on Monday, representatives from the Trump Organization presented a plan to expand the Trump Links at Ferry Point golf course in Throgs Neck, which included creating a wildlife sanctuary and modifying the 17th and 18th holes of the course.
The Parks Department intends to build a waterfront park in the space where the Trump Organization would like to put the golf course's new 17th and 18th holes — and city officials maintain that its plan will prioritize safety and public access.
But Trump's company presentation criticized the city's proposal as dangerous, arguing that it would let visitors get too close to the golf course and place them in a potentially harmful "golf ball landing zone."
Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, said he attended Monday's meeting and derided this safety concern as "ridiculous" and "laughable."
"The meeting was just so fraught with misrepresentations," he said, "like everything involving Trump."
Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen wrote in an Oct. 17 letter to Eric Trump that "The city’s proposal for Ferry Point Park will provide the East Bronx with a crucial recreational amenity, waterfront access, and a protected wetland."
"We have no interest in changing direction in order to allow a cosmetic improvement to a golf course that is, as your letter notes, already recognized as one of the best new courses in the nation," she continued.
The plan that the Trump Organization presented on Monday was identical to the one that the city had already seen and rejected, according to Community Board 10 Chair Martin Prince, who said his board would not be voting on a proposal that was already turned down.
"If we're going to get in a fight with City Hall, it’s going to be about something beneficial to our community," he said. "Trump Links is not up for a vote. Not at all."
The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment.
Prince stressed that the company would have to make some changes to the proposal it took to the city for Community Board 10 to have any interest in supporting it.
"My feeling was, if you come to us with something worthwhile, and it’s different, then we can go ahead and, depending on how members feel, get involved with it," he said, "but they came with the exact same deal that they had with the city."
