The Wantagh-Seaford Citizen, 2007 October 18, Trump at Jones Beach, A Done Deal

Trump at Jones Beach: A Done Deal
by Laura Schofer

Originally published in the 2007 October 18 edition of The Wantagh-Seaford Citizen.
Published online with kind permission from our friends at The Citizen.

“It’s an iron-clad deal,” county Legislator Dennis Dunne (15th District) told The Citizen, referring to the Trump on the Boardwalk Restaurant, a $40 million catering hall at Jones Beach. The deal, as it now stands, gives the state a flat fee of $200,000 a year from the Trump organization for the use of the park property to build and run a catering facility, restaurant and nightclub.

Donald J. Trump

But here’s the rub – the Trump Organization will be exempt from local taxes – no money for the Wantagh School District or the Wantagh Fire District, one of the busiest in Nassau County. “The state and county should have been more transparent and had public meetings on this,” said Mr. Dunne, “and, yes, they should have made an agreement with Trump to pay school taxes.”

But, Mr. Dunne added that the county has a similar deal with Carlton on the Park, a private catering facility and restaurant in Eisenhower Park, a county park. “They don't pay taxes either. Now [county assessor Harvey] Levinson and [county Comptroller Howard] Weitzman are blowing wind. It’s all smoke and mirrors; a dog and pony show,” he said, referring to the demonstration at Jones Beach last Saturday. “He [Levinson] can’t take on Trump.” [Mr. Levinson was not available for comment by press time.]

Instead Mr. Dunne said that “perhaps we can pass special legislation that will permit the sales tax revenue to go the Wantagh Fire District, because of the extra costs” of caring for the catering facilities and its patrons if an emergency arose. Wantagh is in Mr. Dunne’s legislative district. “I spoke with the Trump organization and the state. They are not budging,” said Mr. Dunne. The Citizen called George Gorman, a spokesperson for the state parks, as well as the Trump organization, but neither returned our calls prior to press time. Harvey Levinson, chairman of the county Board of Assessors, began his battle about a year ago, when he learned of the deal and tried to secure a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement from Mr. Trump and the state.

	...perhaps we can pass special legislation that will permit the sales tax revenue to go the Wantagh Fire District...
	Dennis Dunne County Legislator (15th District)

“It is outrageous that a private catering facility was granted exclusive operating rights on public land without paying any property taxes or PILOT payments to the Wantagh School District and the Wantagh Fire District,” said Mr. Levinson, a 1957 Wantagh High School graduate, in an earlier edition of The Citizen.

“Though one could argue whether or not Trump benefited from the terms of a graduated lease fee schedule and limited annual flat fee of $200,000, I believe that no one from the state who negotiated the agreement ever considered the school district or the fire district that would have to provide emergency services to the 1,400-seat facility,” Mr. Levinson added. He has urged residents to contact state officials and “demand that the inequities of Trump’s sweetheart deal be corrected and the state’s policy of granting full property-tax exemptions to for-profit businesses operating on public land be stopped.”

In the meantime, Mr. Dunne has another idea: “The Trump organization has a public relations department and I plan to meet with them to see if they might be interested in assisting the school district with funds for special projects,” said Mr. Dunne. “We can't change what happened, so let’s move forward and see what we can do for Wantagh.”