Revenue, Play Continue To Drop At Trump's Ferry Point Golf Course - Rates Raised For NYC Residents

"You literally can't even get on the course it's so packed” - Eric Trump

Trump's ten million dollar clubhouse under construction earlier this year. Donald Trump’s two sons arrived by a Trump branded helicopter and presided over the opening of the Clubhouse banquet facility ribbon cutting ceremony.  At least one son however had some veracity issues.  

"You literally can't even get on the course it's so packed,"  Eric Trump, EVP of the Trump Organization stated. He also inaccurately claimed that revenue for all Trump courses were up last year and also claimed that the building was finished well ahead of schedule. He also Tweeted that the clubhouse would create,  “countless jobs.”   

The 20,000-sq. ft. clubhouse is expected to bring significant revenue to the struggling course.

Bronx 

By Geoffrey Croft

Revenue and play have dropped precipitously at the Trump Ferry Point golf course since opening just three years ago. 

The public played thousands of fewer rounds of golf for the second year in a row at the tax-payer built course while the Mayor Bloomberg-era gift to Donald Trump facility raised prices on local residents, already the most expensive public course in the city by multitudes.  

Tax payers are also required to pay Trump’s water and sewage bill which grew to $ 1.3 million dollars.

Total revenue has fallen 17 % since first opening three years ago despite continuing to raise rates according to financial documents obtained by NYC Park Advocates.     

The tax-payer built luxury course grossed $ 6,681.256 in its third year of of operation in Trump's sweetheart deal with the City of New York compared to $8,072, 529 in its inaugural year, a decrease of $ 1,391.273 dollars.

The public played 5,070 fewer rounds of golf -  23, 221 last year compared to 28, 291 the first year.  Revenue from greens fees dropped from $ 3.8 million the first year to $ 3.1 million the third year, also a more than 17 percent decrease.

Trump raised fees for New York City residents,  jumping ten dollars for the 2018 season on weekends and eight  dollars during the week. Residents are now required to pay $ 185 a round on weekends and $ 154 during the week, more than 4 and 3 times respectfully what other municipal courses in the city charge.  

Less than 19 percent of NYC residents voted for Trump during the presidential election.    

Trump lowered fees for non-residents a few dollars. Out-of-towners pay a staggering $ 224 on weekends and $ 197 during the week, more than 5 times what other city courses charge.    

Seniors continue to avoid the course like the plague.  Play fell from 1,706  rounds the first year to 1300 rounds last year,  generating only $  94, 388 in greens fees.  

On average seniors usually make up nearly 40% of the golf demographics according to the National Golf Foundation statistics.  

This year seniors still have to cough up a whopping $ 95 dollars for a round compared to the city-wide rate of $ 26 dollars. Trump's “discounted” rates for seniors is not available on weekends and holidays.  Seniors who don't live in NYC get bilked even further - they are required to pay $ 128 a round, an eight dollar decrease from last year.    Trump was forced to slash senior prices in 2017 after the disastrous first two years.

Trump’s original contract stipulated that seniors would pay $55 dollars. 

Juniors are required to pay $  60 dollars - almost 8 times more than at other city courses, and $ 93 for non-residents more than 10 times greater than the $ 7.75 fee other city courses charge.  Junior play grossed less than 5,000 dollars from just 149 rounds of golf.   During the 3rd quarter only 8 juniors played bringing in a total of $ 272 dollars.

For the current 2018 season Trump lowered the Junior rate for non-residents by ten dollars to $ 83 dollars.

Military rates are $ 95 dollars a round. Only 90 people played, grossing $ 5,850 in greens fees. 

Donald Trump’s original contract  listed $100 for a round of golf (Monday-Thursday), and  $125 on weekends and holidays.  He was also allowed to charge non-residents $25 more on weekends without the approval of Parks or the city.  

Since then the de Blasio administration has allowed the sky-high green fees to dramatically increase even further. 

Under a sweetheart deal the Trump organization is not required to pay the city anything the first 4 years. 

Trump’s sweetheart deal doesn’t end there: The de blasio administration gifted Trump’s 

water and sewer charges to the public which the taxpayers are now responsible for. Trump was reimbursed $1.1 million dollars for fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 and $ 1.3 million for 2017, an increase of $ 200,000 from the previous year according to the City’s Department of Environmental Protection.  

Seniors  -  $  94, 388   1300 rounds played

Juniors  -  $ 4,915         149 rounds played

Military  -  $ 6,380           90 rounds played

Total Rounds Played  23,221

Total Gross Revenue   - Total:  $  6,681.256

Greens Fees  -  Total:  $  3,118.406

(Click on graph to enlarge)

Read More:

Revenue, Play Drops At Trump's Ferry Point Golf Course

A Walk In The Park - June 1, 2017 - By Geoffrey Croft

http://awalkintheparknyc.blogspot.com/2017/06/revenue-play-drops-at-trumps-ferry.html

Revenue, Play Drops At Trump's Ferry Point Golf Course

Trump Slump.  Revenue and play were down during the second year at Trump Golf Links At Ferry Point Park.   In 2015 the de Blasio administration quietly allowed Trump to dramatically raise fees - already the highest in the City - before the taxpayer built course even opened.   

The golf course collected zero dollars in broadcasting or sponsorship revenue according financial documents submitted to the city and obtained by NYC Park Advocates.    

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft  

The public played thousands of fewer rounds of golf at Trump Ferry Point while the Mayor Bloomberg-era gift to Donald Trump facility continues to raise prices, already the most expensive public course in the city by multitudes.  

Revenue fell more than a million dollars, dropping 13 % in its second year of operation according to financial documents obtained by NYC Park Advocates.   

The tax-payer built luxury course grossed $ 7, 046, 215, compared to $8,072, 529 the previous year, a decrease of one-million, twenty-six thousand, three hundred and fourteen dollars, during the second of Trump's sweetheart deal with the City of New York.  

The public played 26, 127 rounds the second year compared to 28, 291 the previous year, a decrease of 2, 164 rounds.   

Revenue from greens fees dropped from $ 3.8 million the first year to 3,380.333 the second year, an 11 percent decrease.

Public play and revenue decreased  at the taxpayer-funded Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx during its second year of operation.

Revenue from the banquet business plummeted, decreasing from $837,000 to $444,000, or 47 percent.  The snack bar had a 26 percent decline.

Trump is still continuing to make out like a bandit in the Bronx at the taxpayers expense.   

Trump Golf Links At Ferry Point Park is required pay the city nothing through the first four years of his 20-year contract.

Ferry Point is the highest grossing municipal golf course for the second straight year due to the sky-high prices.     

In 2015 the “progressive” de Blasio administration quietly allowed Trump to dramatically raise fees - already the highest in the City - before the taxpayer built course even opened.   

Trump is allowed to charge more than four times what other city public courses are allowed to.  Trump is also permitted to increase green fees annually according to his agreement which he has done again.  

Greens fees during the week are now $146.00, and $175.00 on weekends compared to  $144.00 during the week and $172.00 respectively in 2015 during the first year of operation.   By comparison the highest rate for greens fees charged at other city public courses during the week is $ 41 dollars, and $ 51 on weekends. Non-residents pay an additional $8.00 dollars.  

Non-residents playing at Trump get bilked even further. Prices for a round of golf during the week is now $ 201.00, and  $ 227.000 on weekends compared to $194.00 and $ 219 dollars respectfully in 2015 during the first year of operation.  The original contract signed by Donald Trump's Ferry Point Partners for green fees in 2013 allowed him to charge $100 for a round of golf  (Monday-Thursday), and $125 on weekends and holidays.  

He was also allowed to charge non-residents $25 more on weekends without the approval of Parks or the city.  

Rates for military personnel were raised $ 4 dollars per round this year.  Active military are now expected to pay the “discounted”  $ 94 dollar rate.  

Juniors (under 16) during the week are being charged a whopping $ 60 dollars compared to the city-wide rate of $ 7.75.  Non-residents pay $ 93 dollars.   The Trump rates are high above the $35 for juniors specified under his original contract. 

During the golf course's first two years seniors were penalized even more - they were charged almost five times more than at other “municipal” courses.  They had to cough up  $ 140 dollars for a round compared to $ 24 dollars city-wide.  The “discounted” rates for seniors is not available on weekends and holiday’s.  

Trumps’s original contract stipulated that seniors would pay $55 dollars.     

The high prices continue to keep seniors away.  Play fell from 1,706 rounds to 1,535,  a decrease of 10 percent.   Seniors accounted for just 6 % of rounds played - teeing off only 1,535 rounds out of 26, 127 during the course’s second year of operation. 

On average seniors usually make up nearly 40% of the demographics according to the National Golf Foundation statistics.  

Trump slashed senior prices for the current 2017 season after the disastrous revenue the first two years.  This year seniors still have to cough up a whopping $ 94 dollars for a round compared to the city-wide rate of  $ 25 dollars. The “discounted” rates for seniors ia not available on weekends and holidays.    Trump’s original contract stipulated that seniors would pay $55 dollars.

Seniors who don't live in NYC get bilked even further - they are required to pay $ 136 a round. 

Trump’s sweetheart deal doesn’t end there: The taxpayers are also responsible for paying his water and sewage bill facility which runs more than $ 1 million dollars annually.   Trump was reimbursed $1.05 million in water and sewage costs for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. Last year the city estimated he would be reimbursed another $1.09 million for fiscal year 2016. 

Despite repeated requests the NYC Department of Environmental Protection refused to provide updated figures. 

Not a single elected official complained about the terrible deal for tax payers until Donald Trump’s presidential campaign began to pick up steam.

The publicly funded project cost close to $ 230 million dollars, the most expensive municipally built golf course in the nation. 

Trump is required to invest $10 million to build a clubhouse which is required to begin this year. The facility is expected to bring significantly more revenue to Trump.

http://www.trumpferrypoint.com/golf-rates

York City Golf Course Rates - Excluding Trump Ferry Point Golf

Golf Rates. https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/golf  New golf rates effective April 1, 2017. Rates are for NYC residents with valid NYC Resident Golfer's Permits. Additional non-resident fees of up to $8.00 apply. The fees above, excluding the rate for Juniors, are inclusive of a $4.00 surcharge.

In October, the City denied Trump’s request to extend the agreement for an additional twenty years.

The city also denied Trump’s request to further expand the golf course into parkland.  His plan would have encroached public access to the long-delayed19.5 acre waterfront park. 

The Trump proposal called for an equal-sized land swap exchange with waterfront views he claimed were needed for expanding the 17th and 18th holes to make the course attractive for a potential PGA major tournament, such as the U.S. Open.

If the city agreed Trump would have created passive parkland near the course that he would maintain and be named after him, The Donald J. Trump Athletic Trail.   (You can’t make this stuff up.)

Trump Links representative also claimed the Parks Department’s new park would be dangerous due to flying golf balls and their alternative plan provided a safer alternative.   (Can’t make this stuff up either.)

Last month it was revealed that police were investigating several recent criminal incidents which have occurred on the property including cutting down trees and anti-Trump graffiti.

Background

The original contract signed by Donald Trump's Ferry Point Partners for green fees in 2013 listed $100 for a round of golf  (Monday-Thursday), and  $125 on weekends and holidays.  He was also allowed to charge non-residents $25 more on weekends without the approval of Parks or the city. 

Since then the sky-high green fees have skyrocketed even further. 

In 2007 Mayor Bloomberg decided the city’s tax-payers should pay to build the luxurious Scottish links style (without trees) project after the Giuliani-selected original developer Pierre Gagne’s Ferry Point Partners walked away in 2006 because of rising costs. (but not before the city paid them nearly $15 million of the $43 million already spent by 2009) 

Bloomberg officials at the time absurdly claimed that rates would be affordable and comparable in price to the city’s more than a dozen other municipal golf courses.

“The intention is to keep [prices] in line with other city courses and not charge as premium,”  then Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said with a straight face in 2009.

It is highly unlikely the city will ever make back its investment considering the project’s price tag and the favorable terms Trump was given.  The city said it had hoped to recoup some of its investment by hosting PGA or LPGA events there, a prospect now highly unlikely considering Mr. Trumps’s public behavior.

The Bloomberg administration also repeatedly claimed the course would generate economic activity in the Bronx without ever providing proof.     

Under the Radar Deal 

In December 2011 the City announced they had negotiated a 20-year license agreement for the operation of the Ferry Point Golf Course to the Trump Organization. 

The Parks Department dumped a press release announcing the proposed deal with Trump on a Friday, the day before Christmas Eve. The financial arrangements were conspicuously absent in the announcement. The shocking terms of the proposed agreement were quietly released in the City Record the following week. 

Terms:

Trump is required pay the city nothing through the first four years of his 20-year contract. Years 1-4: No Fee. Year 5: $300,000 or 7% of Gross Receipts plus 3% of sublicense gross receipts. By the 10th year, he is required to pay $360,000 or 7% of Gross Receipts plus 3% of sublicense gross receipts. By year 20, he is required to pay the city $470,000 or 10% of Gross Receipts plus 3% of sublicense gross receipts.

Trump is required to invest $10 million to build a clubhouse which is slated to begin next year. The facility is expected to bring significantly more revenue to Trump.

The person in charge of the Trump golf deal is Ronald Lieberman, Ferry Point vice president of special projects for the Trump Organization and former head of the Parks Department revenue division until 2007 when he went to work for Trump.  

“We view this as anything but a sweetheart deal,” Lieberman said in 2012.

Golf legend Jack Nicklaus got paid $ 1.25 million for design services and taxpayer-subsidized luxury travel perks according to the City’s agreement including "private aircraft, helicopter, and other expedient methods of transportation." 

Trump’s sweetheart deal doesn’t end there:  When his payments to the city do kick in his minimum annual fees are be much smaller  than those paid by the city’s other golf concessionaires — his percentage of gross receipts will also be less, according to several licensing agreements reviewed by NYC Park Advocates.

The 18-hole golf course in Brooklyn’s Marine Park, for instance, compensates the city as follows: In each operating year, the licensee shall pay the city license fees consisting of the higher of the minimum annual fee. (Years 1-5: $325,000; Years 6-10: $475,000; Years 11-15: $575,000; Years 16-20: $675,000)

In Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, the golf course’s 20-year agreement calls for the city to collect, in years 1-5, the greater of $300, 000 or 17 percent of green fees and cart rentals and 10 percent of merchandise, snack bar/grill, and other revenue, plus 35 percent of resident ID card fees. by the years 16-20: The greater of $550,000 or 20 percent of green fees and cart rentals and 10 percent of merchandise, snack bar/grill and other revenue, plus 35 percent of resident ID cards. 

Private Uses. 

Trump is also allowed to completely close the golf course to the public on any day for private tournaments and outings, league play, and junior or youth programs. Requests to close the facility "shall not be unreasonably withheld" by the Parks Department, according to the terms of the agreement. He would also be allowed to use up to 20 percent of starting times Monday through Friday for private tournaments and outings. 

To further maximize his earning potential, during the hours and days the golf course is not ordinarily open to the public Trump is entitled to conduct special events in any banquet or other catering facility. Listed banquet events include weddings, civil unions, renewals of vows, bridal/baby showers, birthdays, family reunions, and afternoon teas, to name just a few.

In addition to the golf course concession, the city is also required to build Trump a waterfront park snack-bar concession called “Donald’s Joint.”

Déjà vu

"It's a mess ... There was a contract entered into long before our administration ... It turns out it was a terrible contract. But that doesn't mean you go criticize the guys that did it because, for all I know, I would have done the same thing. Maybe at that time it appeared to be a great contract.”  -  Mayor Bloomberg infamously stated on November 23, 2007.

19.5 Acre Waterfront Park

The community’s long promised 19.5 acre waterfront esplanade park is still nowhere to be found.   

   

Originally scheduled to open in 2013, today the area is filled with weeds, its topography appears just as it did more than six decades ago when Robert Moses built the crescent shaped waterfront in anticipation of building an actual public park at the site and smaller golf course. 

The public is supposedly able to track progress on agency projects on its online Capital ProjectTracker website created to “ increase transparency.”  However the project is also nowhere to be seen. 

What little reference there was to the project was removed from the website long ago. 

Sign of the Times. Enter At Your Own Risk. Near the long promised waterfront park's future entrance at Emerson & Schurz Aves.

(Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) click on images to enlarge. 

Read More:

Trump Golf Course Struggles in Bronx, Where Many Can’t Afford to Play

New York Times - June 2, 2017 - By Winnie Hu and Emily Palmer 

Trump luxury golf course built on NYC trash dump sees drop in business  

CNBC - June 2, 2017 - By Mike Juang

Fewer golfers play at Trump’s New York club, revenue declines

New York Daily News - June 1, 2017 - By Megan Cerullo 

Business sags at Trump’s New York golf course as players stay away

Washington Post - May 1,2017 - By Drew Harwell and David A. Fahrenthold 

Trump’s public golf course blames bad weather for sad revenues

New York Post - June 1, 2017 - By Rich Calder

Trump Scores $ Big At "Public" Golf Course At Taxpayer Expense
A Walk In The Park -  June 13, 2016 - By Geoffrey Croft 

Trump’s Ferry Point Golf Course Taxpayer Debacle Opens

 A Walk In The Park - April 1, 2015 

Mayor Cuts Ribbon On $ 200 Million Trump Sweetheart City Tax-Payer 

Funded Ferry Point Park Golf Deal

A Walk In The Park - October 16, 2013 -  By Geoffrey Croft

Donald Trump In Sweetheart City Tax-Payer Funded Golf Concession Deal
A Walk In The Park - January 9, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft

Comptroller Liu Investigating Ferry Point 

Park Golf Delays Cost Overruns

A Walk In The Park - September 30, 2012 - By Geoffrey Croft 

High Levels Of Methane Gas Repeatedly Found At Ferry Point Golf Course

A Walk In The Park - September 23, 2012 

Trump Picked To Run Ferry Point Park Golf Money Pit Boondoggle

A Walk In The Park - December 24, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

The Tortured Road To Build Bushwick Inlet Park Continues

Bayside Oil Depot.  For more than a decade residents have been waiting for the city to tear down the rusting oil refineries to create an open space along the Bushwick inlet shoreline as part of the long promised 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park. (Photo: Christopher Lee for The New York Times)

The elected officials, in their infinite wisdom,  all lined up to support the rezoning without first  getting legally binding assurances from the Bloomberg administration that the park would get built, either before the opportunistic commercial developers began reaping the benefits, or after.

In 2005, the city rezoned nearly 200 blocks of Williamsburg and Greenpoint to accommodate the construction of the high-end condominiums and rental buildings that now dot the water’s edge.

Since that time the city has been unable to acquire all of the necessary land to build Bushwick Inlet Park promised under Mayor Bloomberg.   Nearly half of the land the city promised to buy - 11-acre piece in the middle of the site - is still owned by CitiStorage, whose owner, Norman Brodsky, is seeking $250 million for the property, according to news reports.

In June the city offered him $100 million though Mr. Brodsky is reportedly asking for as much as $325 million. Real estate experts estimate the property’s minimum value at between $120 million and $180 million, according to Crain’s New York Business.

Mr. Brodsky has put the property up for an auction ending in July. Eminent Domain is being urged to secure the property for this much needed public use.

The city has already spent $198 million to buy various parcels to turn into parkland and an additional $25.8 million on development costs, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office. That total is far beyond initial cost estimates of $60 million to $90 million.

As part of the 2005 waterfront rezoning that allowed the development the city promised to build not one park but three —the 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park, Barge Park, and a park on Commercial St. in Greenpoint. Only a 7-acre chunk of Bushwick Inlet Park with a soccer field and a lawn adjasent to a newly built Parks building has opened.  

- Geoffrey Croft



On Saturday night Representative Carolyn B. Maloney set up her tent in the rain during a “sleep-in”  intended to call attention to the city’s offer to buy a piece of land that would help complete Bushwick Inlet Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (Photo: Kevin Hagen for The New York Times)


Brooklyn

Throughout its well documented transformation, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has hosted an array of outlandish incongruities. By now, the images are almost hackneyed: artists and Hasidim gliding along on bicycles, sporting parallel chest-length beards; coffee beans of every roast sharing shelf space with spices from the Caribbean and craft beers brewed in nearby warehouses that had long stood idle.

But a scene along the East River on Saturday night would have given pause to even the most jaded Brooklynite. On a plot of pavement in the shadow of an industrial wasteland, a congresswoman, the borough president and several dozen community activists were trying to pitch a tent, according to an article in the New York Times.

The would-be campers were seeking not a temporary respite from the asphalt but rather the creation of a permanent park. More than a decade ago, New York City promised to build a 28-acre green space along the inlet in exchange for the community’s support for a rezoning that added luxury residential buildings to what was once a primarily working-class enclave. But the revitalization of Williamsburg has galloped ahead without completion of Bushwick Inlet Park, and the “sleep-in” on Saturday was a plea to the businessman who owns a parcel of land that stands between its uncoupled ends.

“We’re not asking for anything more than what was promised us,” said Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, a Democrat whose district includes part of Williamsburg and who spent the night in a narrow orange tent. “And it wasn’t just a promise, it was a deal.”

In 2005, almost 200 blocks of Williamsburg and Greenpoint were rezoned to accommodate the construction of the high-end condominiums and rental buildings that now hug the water’s edge. To moderate the effect on the community, which activists say sorely lacks green space, the city committed to building Bushwick Inlet Park on five and a half blocks along the East River. So far, only a corner of it has been created, at the southern end.

 The city’s efforts to fulfill its promise have been complicated by the difficulty of buying land from different owners to piece the park together, not to mention the eventual cleanup of decades of industrial pollution. The price of the project has catapulted past the original estimates of $60 million to $90 million made when Michael R. Bloomberg, a Republican turned independent, was mayor. The city has already spent $198 million on land, and $25.8 million on development. But the biggest plot still eludes the project: an 11-acre swath in the middle of the footprint, held by Norman Brodsky, owner of CitiStorage.

At the moment, Mr. Brodsky remains in a standoff with the city, which offered him $100 million for the property in June. Though Mr. Brodsky declined to comment, those involved in the conversations said he was hoping for a higher bid, reportedly as much as $325 million. Real estate experts pegged the property’s minimum value at between $120 million and $180 million, according to Crain’s New York Business.

 City officials argued that their offer was “fair and appropriate” and that the value of the land had soared only because of rezoning contingent upon the creation of the park. Mr. Brodsky has thus far spurned the city and put the property up for an auction ending in July. Some have even suggested that the city use eminent domain to claim the land, betting that whatever compensation a court required would be less than the amount Mr. Brodsky was demanding. (Asked about the use of eminent domain, a city spokeswoman said, “Our focus is on a negotiated sale.”)

Sensing opportunity in the gridlock, another group has proposed an alternate idea: turning the ghost town of ramshackle refineries and warehouses into a museum and exhibition space called Maker Park. City officials dismissed the idea, saying the area’s postapocalyptic feel may appeal to trendy developers, but that the structures need to be demolished to ensure that the heavily polluted land underneath can be properly remediated.

Despite occasionally biblical rain on Saturday, several dozen residents of the neighborhood took part in the demonstration, which offered music, dancing and trays of lukewarm hot dogs. The gathering was less kumbaya than college colloquium, with participants sitting down to lectures from Daniel Campo, a professor at Morgan State University in Baltimore who has studied the area’s ethnographic history, and Adam Perlmutter, a lawyer who has helped to litigate the parkland dispute.

 “It’s clear that this area was always meant to be a park,” said Katherine Conkling Thompson, 53, a member of Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, an advocacy group that has championed the proposed park for decades. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a neighborhood desperate for green space.”  The idea for the sleep-in was conceived by the borough president, Eric L. Adams, a Democrat who has made a habit of overnight advocacy. Last year, he was among a group of legislators and activists who slept outside the office of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, as part of a battle over rent regulations.

“We want to send a strong message to Mr. Brodsky to take the city’s offer,” said Mr. Adams, who grew soaked in the storm as he spoke. “The rain only shows that our commitment is real.”

With increasing frequency, Ms. Maloney has also found that the work of politics sometimes includes sleeping on unforgiving surfaces. She recently joined colleagues in an overnight sit-in for gun control legislation that involved occasional dozing on the carpeted floor of the House of Representatives. Addressing the gathering, Ms. Maloney repeatedly banged her hand down on a projector, which zapped off and seemed to be left in dubious shape.

“Over my dead body will they upzone this park,” she said to cheers. “They can drag us away from here.”

Soon enough, a group of police officers seemed to consider doing just that. “I don’t know about this,” one said as he surveyed the cluster of tents. His tone immediately shifted when he noticed Mr. Adams, a former police captain who used to work in the precinct. “What’s up, Eric?” the officer said. After a quick chat, the squad car drove off.

“I promoted those guys,” Mr. Adams explained with a grin.

In the morning, Mr. Perlmutter brought doughnuts and coffee. Bleary-eyed and still damp, the group packed up and headed to a nearby fence where they had hung a board counting down the days left for Mr. Brodsky to accept the city’s offer. On Sunday, the figure stood at 29. Through the chain-link barricade, they looked at the dilapidated landscape, sleepless but not hopeless.



So far, only a corner of Bushwick Inlet Park has been created, at the southern end of a footprint that is eventually supposed to cover 28 acres.  The city promised to build three parks — 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park, Barge Park, and a park on Commercial St. in Greenpoint — as part of a 2005 waterfront rezoning to allow housing towers. Only a 7-acre chunk of Bushwick Inlet Park with a soccer field has opened.

Read More:

Activists Camp Out to Call for Completion of a Brooklyn Park
New York Times - July 10, 2016  - By Noah Remnick

Broken Promises Continue Over Bushwick Inlet Park

A Walk In the Park - June 13, 2012 

‘Drastic Miscalculation' In Stalling Of Greenpoint-Williamsburg Greening

A Walk In the Park - May 18, 2012 

City Can’t Afford To Build Promised Bushwick Inlet Park

A Walk In the Park - July 21, 2011 

Taking No Questions Mayor DeBlasio Celebrates One Millionth Tree Planting

Mayor Bill de Blasio at this morning's press conferance celebrating the planting of the 1,017,634, tree in Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx,  as part of the MillionTreesNYC.  The Mayor was joined by, (from left) Deborah Marton, Bette Midler,  former Mayor Michael Bloomberg,  Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Council Member Mark Levine,  City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Parks Commissinor Mitchell Silver,  and Congressman Jose Serrano.

The MillionTrees initiative has been plagued by a host of issues including poor management and oversight critics say.  The Mayor refused to answer a single question at the event. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

City-Wide

By Geoffrey Croft

Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated the planting of the 1,017,634, tree this morning in Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx,  as part of the MillionTreesNYC.

The Mayor was joined by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Restoration Project’s Bette Midler who launched the Million Trees program in 2007.  

"We're not stopping," the Mayor pledged.  "There will be 150,000 trees planted over the next three years to continue this tradition."

The much-maligned program has been criticized over the years for a host of reasons:  Critics question the sense of planting new trees when the elected officials allocate only a fraction of the funds needed to care for the millions of already existing trees;  the improper installation/planting of the trees;  the lack of community-based planning and consultation regarding where the trees were planted; the lack of oversight; mortality rate; as well as the adoption rate of the trees which is a major component of the program.  

The program also displaced the Parks Department's public research library at the agency's 5th Avenue headquarters.

De blasio did not stick around to answer questions however.  The Mayor made a hasty exit out of the park after the last photo-op followed by pack of media trying in vein to ask questions.  

Like many of Mayor Bloomberg's "environmental" initiatives  Million Trees was viewed by many more for its PR value for than as a viable, sustainable program.  His PlaNYC program  was flush with capital spending but funding to maintain these new projects were largely absent.

Bette Midler got a hug, and later a kiss from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg who both launched the Million Trees program in 2007.  

Bloomberg reminded the crowd that the original event scheduled for October 21 was canceled  due to the tragic murder of police officer Randolph Holder the night before.

The Parks Department planted 750, 000 of the trees - 495,000 were planted in parkland and the remaining 155, 000 going to streets.  The remaining trees were planted by New York Restoration Project.

Flanked by aids, his security detail and the media, Mayor DeBlasio, makes a hasty exit out of the park without answering a single question at the event.

A member of the Mayor's security detail keeps a close watch over the one millionth planted tree.    (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

One Million Trees: Planting Breakdown

Number of Trees Planted by Borough:
•   Bronx – 276,600
•   Brooklyn – 182,593
•   Manhattan – 80,016
•   Queens – 284,755
•   Staten Island – 173,134
•   (Borough unknown) – 2,902

Number of Trees Planted by Type:
•   Street trees: 155,000 (+ 2,020 since planting of the Millionth Tree)
•   NYC Park Trees: 595,000 (+ 15,614 since planting of the Millionth Tree)
•   Private and other open space: 250,000