Donald Trump’s real estate empire is known for its tall skyscrapers in the world’s major cities and luxurious hotels in exotic destinations.
But one piece of land the president invested in is a far cry from the lavish penthouses and well-kept golf courses we have come to know.
Donald J. Trump State Park is in Westchester County, New York, just 45 miles north of Manhattan. The tennis courts are covered in overgrown grass and the only water filling the swimming pool is rainwater.
It was intended to be another one of The Donald’s many golf courses, but the plan never materialized.
Now, all that is left is empty buildings and barren swathes of land that have been abandoned for years.
The eerie and abandoned Donald J. Trump State Park is in Westchester County, New York, just 45 miles north of Manhattan
It was intended to be another one of The Donald’s many golf courses, but the plan never materialized. Now, all that is left is empty buildings and barren swathes of land that have been abandoned for years
The real estate mogul first hit an obstacle in the project when he couldn’t get permits for a golf course from the local authorities.
According to the AV Club, he subsequently claimed $100 million tax write-off after donating the land to the New York government in 2006.
But the park closed due to budget cuts in 2010, and now sits abandoned and dilapidated.
Since then, there have been many efforts to revitalize the area and turn it into a dog park at the very least.
Every effort however hit a bureaucratic roadblock.
The New York State Office Of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation struggled to raise the funds needed to maintain the park and even found asbestos in one of the buildings.
The swimming pool on the land is filled with rainwater and debris. It is a far cry from the lavish penthouses and well-kept golf courses we have come to know
The real estate mogul first hit an obstacle in the project when he couldn’t get permits for a golf course from the local authorities
A metal gate is left hanging from a fence with orange rope. There have been many efforts to change the name of the park since it was abandoned
In September, New York Assembly Member Nily Rozic said the name of the park should be changed to ‘Heather D. Heyer State Park’, to pay tribute to the woman who was killed during the White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville last summer.
In a petition circulated online, she wrote: ‘Across the nation, we have spoken out against the policy proposals the Trump Administration has put forth that are discriminatory, divisive, and misguided.
‘Since January 2017, we have organized protests and rallies in defense of our values while pledging to uphold progress that has taken place on the local level. Among us are young Americans like Heather D. Heyer, whose life was taken away at the hands of white supremacists rallying in Charlottesville, Virginia.
‘The events that unfolded in Charlottesville are a reminder that the work ahead requires us to stand united in the face of hate.
‘It was for this reason that Heather, who worked as a paralegal, had joined so many others that day to push back against the rise in racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic rhetoric that has no place in our communities.’
In September, New York Assembly Member Nily Rozic said the name of the park should be changed to ‘Heather D. Heyer State Park’, to pay tribute to the woman who was killed during the White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville last summer
The New York State Office Of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation struggled to raise the funds needed to maintain the park and even found asbestos in one of the buildings
In 2015, Assemblyman Charles Lavine also moved to try and rename the park. He said in a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo he thought the park should be renamed for Muslim Revolutionary War veteran named Peter Salem.
‘It is time the State of New York sends a message to Donald Trump that his hate speech is not welcome in our great state,’ said Lavine in a statement on Thursday. ‘I am confident that the governor will take our letters into consideration. If he is unable to act, then we are prepared to move forward with this legislation.’
‘When it comes to demagoguery and the primitive impulse to fan the flames of religious bigotry and xenophobia, Donald J. Trump seems to be doing just fine all on his own without the need for New York State to promote his un-American ideations by displaying his name on one of our State Parks,’ he added.
A.V. Club Philadelphia City Editor Emily Guendelsberger took a trip to the state park earlier this year and described it as a ‘wasteland’.
She wrote on one of the pictures: ‘I have been wanting to stop and explore Donald J. Trump State Park for ages; google it, the story’s interesting but too long to post. It’s this abandoned wasteland off the Taconic Parkway.’
The tennis courts have not been cared for since the park was abandoned in 2010. What is left is overgrown vegetation
One of the entrances to the park is surrounded by overgrown grass and plants
President Trump’s sprawling Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach is one of the most lavish properties in his portfolio and often where he likes to spend his weekends
The sprawling club looks out over a croquet lawn towards palm trees and the beach
Trump and first lady Melania spent Christmas Eve at Mar-a-Lago calling children who were tracking Santa’s movements