It sounds like the kind of event Mayor Eric Adams wants to bring to New York City to boost the economy: an elite international golf tournament that will appeal to visitors and their wallets.
But because the tournament has ties to the Saudi government and will be held at a playground owned by the city run by the family business of former President Donald J. the terrorist attacks.
Mr. Adams, who has been given permission by the government to continue the tournament, is now facing pressure from City Council to reconsider his stance.
Adrienne Adams, City Council speaker, and Shekar Krishnan, a Council member who heads the Parks and Recreation Committee, sent a letter Wednesday night to Mayor Adams and Sue Donoghue, park commissioner, urged them to immediately cancel the city’s parks. contracted with the Trump Organization to operate the course at Ferry Point in the Bronx, and canceled the tournament.
The letter argued that the city had new grounds for ending the relationship after the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, pleaded guilty to felony fraud last month. The city’s agreement with the company requires its employees to comply with all federal, state, and local laws.
“Park land should not be in the hands of Donald Trump or the Trump Organization,” the letter read.
The letter also states that “the Saudi-backed league does not harm the families of 9/11 victims and offends the public’s memory of that horrific day.”
The city council, which does not have the authority to revoke the contract, could hold a hearing next week to look into it, Krishnan said in an interview. He said he spoke to the victim’s family about their concerns.
“They agree with us on the urgency of the situation,” he said.
The golf tournament, a women’s event in the Aramco Team Series, is scheduled to begin on October 13. The course is expected to feature two of women’s golf’s most trusted American stars, Ms. sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda.
Just as the LIV Golf series has raised the highest levels of men’s golf by hunting down some of the top players from the PGA Tour, the Aramco Team Series is linked to the Saudi government corporate website Ut. Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is the “presentation partner” of the series and its main sponsor, Aramco, is the country’s state-owned oil corporation. Saudi Arabic.
Maxwell Young, a spokesman for Mr. Adams, said in a statement Thursday that the termination of the contract could force the city to pay the Trump Organization a fee of up to $30 million — “an untenable outcome.” who wants it”.
The Trump Organization has argued that the city will have to pay $30 million “contract termination fee“To cancel the contract – a possible outcome that Mr. Adams spokesman, Maxwell Young, said ‘no one should want'”.
Mr. Young reiterated Mr. Adams’ view that the event should not be held at the course, but that the city could not legally prevent it.
“It is outrageous that the Trump Organization agreed to host this tournament knowing how much pain it will cause New Yorkers and it is frustrating that the contract we inherited from previous administrations there is absolutely no legal basis to prevent that,” Mr. Young said.
Mr. Adams’ chief of staff, Frank Carone, has held at least two staff meetings this year to discuss the golf tournament, according to a copy of Mr. Carone’s daily schedule released by the city upon request. Freedom of Information.
Mr. Adams met with family members of the victims of the September 11 attacks last week to hear their concerns about Saudi Arabia’s support for terrorists.
Before the meeting, Brett Eagleson, president of a group called 9/11 Justice, said Mr. Adams should stay off the ground and 9/11 memorials this month. The group also opposes a golf game LIV tournament at the Trump Organization golf course in Bedminster this summer.
After the meeting, The mayor’s office quietly released a statement says golf events should not be held in the city.
Mr Adams said: “I stand with the 9/11 community and share my profound anger at the decision to host this tournament here, where so many people have suffered so much.
The Trump Organization’s management of the course, known as Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, was the subject of an intense battle with the city last year. The former mayor, Bill de Blasio, terminated his contract with the company following riots on January 6, 2021 at the Capitol in Washington.
But one The judge ruled in April that the Trump Organization can continue to operate the golf course and found that the city had improperly terminated the contract. Mr. de Blasio defends the attempt to overthrow the company and urges the Adams administration to appeal the decision.
Mr. Adams, a more business-friendly Democrat than his predecessor, did not appeal the judge’s ruling.
The Trump Organization is going to court for tax fraud in October, and Mr. Weisselberg is expected to be the central witness. He recently pleaded guilty to more than a dozen counts and admitted to participating in a protracted tax evasion conspiracy.
The letter from Council leaders also argues that Mr Trump is listed as a license agreement guarantor with the city and is facing numerous investigations of his own, including possible violations of the license agreement. violate the Espionage Act.
“The cloud of legal investigations of the most serious nature surrounding Trump impedes his ability to become the surety required by the terms of this license,” the letter read.
The Aramco Team Series, which gives women’s golf new competitions including a seven-figure prize fund, is sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and women have been able to participate in its events without facing competition. types of consequences LIV Golf players face, such as suspension.
The team’s series played in New York last year at the Glen Oaks Club in Nassau County, but organizers this week said moving the event to Ferry Point offers “the perfect location,” given it’s proximity to Manhattan . Organizers are marketing the tournament as “the first time an event of this magnitude has been held in New York City.”
Representatives for the team series did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
But in terms of ticket price, the series doesn’t quite achieve the interest that other sporting events do: Adults can enter all three days of the tournament for a total of $10 per person.
