Donald Trump's name must be 'prominently displayed' on park
ALBANY - A decade-old deal that created the Donald J. Trump State Park calls for the celebrity developer's name to be "prominently displayed" at the property's entrances, according to documents obtained by Gannett's Albany Bureau.
Trump, the real-estate magnate turned Republican presidential hopeful, donated 436 acres of land in Westchester and Putnam counties to the State Parks system in 2006 after his plans to develop the connected properties into a golf resort couldn't get the necessary permits.
"(Each) of the properties will bear a name which includes Mr. Trump's name, in acknowledgment of these gifts," Henry Hocherman, then a White Plains attorney representing Trump in the deal, wrote in a Feb. 24, 2006, letter to the state Attorney General's Office. "The name will be prominently displayed at least at each entrance to each property."
The property has become a point of contention in the state Legislature, where 20 Democratic lawmakers have signed on to a bill requiring the state to strip the property of Trump's name, pointing to his controversial campaign trail remarks about Muslims, Mexicans and women.
Trump has suggested he would oppose any effort to take his name off the land, but it's uncertain whether his conditions are ultimately enforceable.
The letter from Trump's attorney to the state Attorney General's Office lays out Trump's conditions for donating the properties to the state — including that his name be included in the new park's title.
The property was re-named Donald J. Trump State Park in April 2006, when then-Gov. George Pataki and then-State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro attended an event with Trump in April 2006 to announce the donation.
The property, however, was never developed into a full-fledged park and isn't listed on the official State Parks website. It was briefly closed in 2010 during a state budget battle and has remained largely undeveloped since.
Pataki, meanwhile, has since expressed regret about the name of the property, telling Time Warner Cable News last week he is "unhappy" Trump's name is on it.
The letter from Trump's attorney was addressed to Henry DeCotis, then a deputy attorney general who was representing the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in the transaction.
It was "acknowledged and accepted" by James Sponable, who signed below Hocherman's message. At the time, Sponable was the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation's director of real property.
Whether the letter is legally enforceable is another matter.
Trump's conditions — which also included that the land be maintained as a park and that the state accept the properties "as is" — are not laid out in the actual deed, which was signed by Trump himself.
The deed, which Trump signed two days before Hocherman's letter, says Trump gifted the land to the state parks department and "assigns forever." The agreement is "subject to all enforceable covenants, conditions, restrictions and easements of record," the deed notes.
"The deed is on its face an absolute conveyance of the property back to the state as a donation," DeCotis, who is now retired, said Tuesday. "Any action that Trump might take would have to be based on the side letter."
Trump's name has, in fact, been prominently displayed on the land, which he wrote off on his income taxes.
His name adorns signs at the property's entrances, as the 2006 letter demanded. And it goes a step further: A large sign directing motorists to Donald J. Trump State Park sits on the Taconic State Parkway, which cuts through the property.
Trump, meanwhile, has signaled he will fight to keep his name on the property.
In a December statement to the Associated Press, Trump said: "If they want, they can give me the land back."
Trump's campaign did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The Republican is currently campaigning in South Carolina ahead of its presidential primary on Saturday.
Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-Manhattan, sponsors a bill that would require the state to rename the property. The bill was introduced in December, not long after Trump proposed temporarily banning all Muslims from entering the United States.
Squadron on Tuesday said it would be "cynical to think" that changing the name of the park or removing signs would cause Trump to take back the property.
"It's disappointing that this wasn't just a tax strategy for Mr. Trump, it was also an attempt at shameless self-promotion," Squadron said. "We should certainly say thank you for the land, but officials in the parks department shouldn't be making commitments that are counter to the values of the state and handcuff the state moving forward."