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.
The former New York governor isn’t the only one who hopes to see the park’s name changed. In mid-December, Democratic State Sen. Daniel Squadron submitted a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo urging him to rename the land. Squadron claimed Trump’s “discriminatory proposals” and “increasingly hostile rhetoric” render him “unworthy of having a New York State Park named in his honor.”
For the most part, Trump has ignored efforts to remove his name and likeness from the park and other properties like his soon-to-open hotel in Washington, D.C.
A spokeswoman for the billionaire’s campaign previously told the New York Times that because Trump donated the land to the state of New York, the park is required to be named after him.
“If they want, they can give me the land back,” Trump said in a recent statement to the Associated Press regarding efforts to rename Donald J. Trump State Park.
