Trump Name Removed From Central Park Skating Rinks

President Donald Trump’s unpopularity is harming the Trump Organization’s business interests in New York City. This has become apparent with the vanishing of the Trump name from the signage at the city’s Central Park skating rinks. The Trump Organization had been operating these skating rinks since the 1980s.

As the ice-skating season starts, the Trump name is no longer visible. Until last spring, the Trump name figured prominently across the Wollman Rink. Now, it is obscured — there only by a small “t” under a sign that shows the rinks’ hours and fees and by a big “T” over the skate rental counter.

Trump’s unpopularity with New York City residents already led to the removal of the Trump name from a number of his properties in the city. These include a few condominium towers owned by the Trump Organization. The Trump SoHo hotel is now called the Dominick.

The founder of NYC Park Advocates, Geoffrey Croft, thinks the Trump Organization has realized that the business would do better without Trump’s name displayed. Croft said, “They have finally gotten the message.”

The Democratic New York City Councilman Mark Levine thinks that without Trump’s name, the Trump Organization stands a better chance of renewing the contract of running the rinks in Central Park in 2021 when a new contract will be given by the city. Levine said, “They know that there would be too much public pressure against renewal.”

The Trump Organization did not give an explanation for the sudden removal of the Trump name from his properties. It has in the past denied any link between public opinion about Trump and its effects on the health of his businesses. The executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, Ronald Lieberman, told the New York Times in 2018, “There is no connection to politics and usership at our facilities here in N.Y.C.”

The Times‘ investigation cites figures about Trump’s businesses. They are now run by his sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump. The Times report shows a decline in the president’s businesses after he took over as president and left its management to his sons.

The revenue from the skating rinks fell since he entered the White House. The Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx is in financial trouble. In 2019, the Trump Organization’s plans for two hotel chains were abandoned.

Article by Rajeet Guha