Happy Fourth of July everyone! It was another glorious summer day in New York State on Sunday. We were invited to a barbecue / dual birthday party for the children of some of our friends north of the city so we took the plunge and braved the traffic to celebrate summer with our buddies. Destination: Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park (http://nysparks.com/parks/148/details.aspx) in Yorktown Heights along a green stretch of the Taconic State Parkway.
It was a pleasant and carefree drive. But as we approached our exit on the parkway we noticed a curiosity of a state park just south of Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park named... Donald J. Trump State Park. The wife and I were understandably puzzled and curious, but not curious enough to interupt our lovely day to investigate further. But now that we're safely back home from our little day out of the city, it's time to investigate.
The introduction from the Wikipedia page is hilariously appropriate:
Donald J. Trump State Park is a 436-acre (1.8 km2) undeveloped state park located within the towns of Yorktown and Putnam Valley in Westchester County and Putnam County, New York.
The park consists of property donated to New York State in 2006 by Donald Trump. Maintenance of the park was halted in 2010 due to budget constraints, and the park remains largely undeveloped as of 2015.
And…
Having previously purchased the property for $2 million in the 1990s, the land for the park was donated in 2006 by Donald Trump, for whom the park was named. The land was donated after Trump was unable to gain town approvals to develop a private golf course on the property. At the time of its donation, Trump claimed the parcel to be worth $100 million, and was able to use the donation as a tax write-off.
Typical Trump. Probably some history about the land is in order here. In 2006, then Governor Pataki announced a land donation by Donald Trump to the state of New York that would become the 174th State Park.
“With spring upon us and Earth Day right around the corner, today marks the perfect time for New Yorkers to receive such a generous and meaningful gift – the protection of valuable open space and beautiful parklands in the Hudson Valley,” Governor Pataki said. “The establishment of Donald J. Trump State Park will increase public access to scenic landscapes and provide additional recreational opportunities for families and visitors to the region. On behalf of the people of the Empire State, I express our gratitude to Donald Trump for his vision and commitment to preserve the natural resource of this property for the benefit of future generations.
Thank goodness for the Internet Archive and Wayback Machine. Those are very kind words, which makes the 2016 presidential candidate version of Governor Pataki sound like he's had an awakening.
Former New York governor and 2016 presidential candidate George Pataki is not thrilled that a park in his home state bears Donald Trump's name.
Pataki, who had his differences with Trump in the Republican field, said in a recent interview with Time Warner Cable's "Capital Tonight" he's "unhappy" that Donald J. Trump State Park exists in Westchester County. The 436-acre state park was purchased by Trump in the 1990s to be developed into a golf course, but was later donated to the state of New York after plans fell through.
"I don't know that you go back and change it, but he donated I think it was 140 acres in Westchester County, which is great for the taxpayers and it's great that it's a park," Pataki said.
"I wish it didn't have his name on it," he later added.
Right. Too bad you didn’t feel the same way ten years ago. It’s not like Donald Trump is a different person back then compared to who he is today. And now we’re stuck with these signs on the parkway pointing us to absolutely nothing. Even the Rachel Maddow show paid a visit to the site in July 2015 and found nothing.
Oh so typical Trump. Rachel Maddow did have an interesting story that got some play when she reported it in 2015. But now, with all of the history and hijinx we've come to expect from Donald Trump, the story makes a lot more sense. He bought this particular plot of land for $2 million dollars (maybe $3 million dollars). When he decided to donate the land to the state of New York, after his failed attempts to commercialize the land, he valued the land at $100 million. He had done nothing on it, mind you. Maybe some upkeep but that's about it. But $95 million worth of upkeep or improvements? I don't think so.
There have been a few attempts to rename the land to something else, including one from change.org. So far, the prospects for a name change have been unsuccessful but I'm ever hopeful. At least the prospects for some kind of development by the state have improved of late.
So, the story goes as follows. Some cheap land was purchased by Donald Trump. He had glorious plans, the best plans, the greatest plans... to build a golf course on the land only to have those plans upended. He then abandons the land, in the guise of some public philanthropy or charity; but really he’s come out the other side very well with some inflated tax relief while doing absolutely nothing to actually build anything of lasting impact. Sounds so familiar. The state now has control of the park and will probably do something to improve it, especially because the land is adjacent to Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park and it's straightforward to push improvements to the old Trump lands by melding those improvements to those of the nearby FDR State Park. Mountain bike trails or interconnected scenic paths come to mind.
While the planning for a formal trail system at Donald J. Trump State Park is underway, it's a good time to explore the hardwood forests on the trails there. There's a fairly good chance you'll be there alone in the wilds.
At French Hill, towering oaks and beech trees provide a canopy overhead, though some of the hardwoods have succumbed in the clutch of massive invasive vines. Surprising discoveries await on the forest floor. I came across the remains of a pile of Peekskill Evening Star newspapers, still readable, from 1984. At Indian Hill, I walked along the hilltop field where, for a moment, you feel like you’re on top of the world, with the undulating Hudson Highlands rimming the western horizon. A path extended through head-high scrub where songbirds twittered. It led into the woods as I headed north into the forest, where I felt far away from crush of commerce and traffic, and the worries of suburban life.
There’s some untapped beauty in the undeveloped land. There is a lot of potential if you're willing to invest some tender loving care and some time. Maybe it's even a metaphor for the Republican Party... something with a lot of untapped potential to do good, or at least to govern semi-effectively, but today is just a field of weeds and rusty machinery that's no good to anyone. And at the head of this completely ineffective parcel of Republican uselessness are the yuuuuge and misdirecting signs proclaiming the essence of Donald J. Trump State Park and acting like banner men for the Donald himself. The land is as much a State Park as its namesake is a national leader (currently it's absent from the New York State Parks and Recreation website). The park is more or less an illusion, like Trump’s beliefs and his policies. Once you get past the signs and arrive at the “park” you discover that it’s not really what you thought it was. In fact, it’s nothing like any other park you’ve been to and doesn’t even deserve to be labeled a state park. And now, having seen what it is and what it isn’t, the damn thing is very difficult to get rid of or even transmogrify into something for all to enjoy.