Many of former President Donald Trump’s golf courses are in trouble — losing money and hosting duties for championship tournaments — but only one is in immediate danger of having his name stripped from the property. That’s Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, the 18-hole course designed by Jack Nicklaus that commuters see coming off the Whitestone Bridge into the Bronx on I-678.
In 2012, the Bloomberg administration cut a deal allowing Trump to operate the Parks Department–owned course with no concession fees for the first four years, followed by a meager revenue split with the city for much of the remainder of the 20-year contract. But in the wake of the Capitol riot, the city cut that deal short, along with contracts that had the Trump Organization running two ice-skating rinks and the carousel in Central Park. Now, the de Blasio administration has a new operator lined up for the property. On Monday, a notice published by the city reveals that an LLC called Ferry Point Links is scheduled to be awarded the rights to the deal, which has 13 years remaining on it.
As The City reports, that firm shares an executive, Jack Brown, and an address with CORE Services Group, one of the largest homeless shelter operators in New York City. According to a representative for the Department of Parks and Recreation, CORE will partner with an Atlanta company named after Masters co-founder Bobby Jones to manage “the operation of the concession.” The Parks Department and the city Franchise and Concession Review Committee will meet for a hearing on the handover on October 12; a new contract is scheduled to begin on November 15, the day after the deadline for the Trump Organization to leave the course. The family business has sued to stop the transfer, telling The City that the Trump Organization plans to “vigorously defend our right to possession and control of the property for the remainder of the 20-year term, against both the city and anyone to whom the city purports to issue a replacement license.” The de Blasio administration says it is on secure legal ground because Trump failed to deliver on the agreement to bring a major tournament to the public course.
CORE Services Group, the firm led by potential course operator Jack Brown, has almost $550 million in contracts with New York City for family and single-adult shelters, in addition to several facilities in Washington. But if the city is looking for a total departure from the exaggerated claims of the Trump Organization, they may need to look elsewhere. According to a New York Times investigation in 2012, Brown has overstated his military service and has falsely claimed he has a master’s degree in “community economic development,” while the firm — which disputes the Times’ reporting —may have underdelivered on contracts to provide halfway-house residents with support services.
This post has been updated to properly reflect the name of CORE Services Group.
