Faster And Cheaper, Trump Finishes NYC Ice Rink
By Rick Lyman, Inquirer Staff Writer
POSTED: November 01, 1986
NEW YORK — Score one for the Trumpster.
Back in June, when the city’s bungled, six-year effort to renovate the Wollman Ice-Skating Rink in Central Park was $12 million over budget with no end in sight, real-estate tycoon Donald Trump stepped forward.
Just give the project to me, he said, and I'll finish the rink by Christmas. This Christmas. And for free.
"I have total confidence that we will be able to do it," Trump said at the time. “I am going on record as saying that I will not be embarrassed."
Yesterday morning, in a gala ceremony down in the sunken, tree-shrouded gulch just off Central Park South, Trump unveiled his completed rink - the ‘'largest man-made skating rink in the world," glistening with a mirror- perfect sheath of virgin ice.
He was two months ahead of schedule, and $750,000 under budget.
"This serves as an example of what New York, the wealthiest city in the world, can do in terms of saving money - if things are done right," an exuberant Trump said. “If we could just plan and execute, it would be billions and billions of dollars that would be saved."
Even the weather gods cooperate with Donald Trump. Yesterday’s chilly, aquamarine morning was perfect for the occasion, the first day of the season that made ice-skating seem like a pretty good idea.
Skating champions Dick Button and Aja Zanova-Steindler were the first to test the rink. Button did a few graceful turns on the massive rink and declared the ice “velvet."
The near-circular skating area, built in 1951, was closed in 1980 for repairs, but the project quickly fell behind schedule. By the spring of this year, with a bankrupt general contractor and an expensive, experimental refrigeration system that didn’t work, Wollman rink was left to rot.
Parks officials announced they were back at “square one," and predicted it would take another year-and-a-half to complete the renovations.
That’s when Trump came forward.
The completed complex, near the southeast corner of the park, includes a red-brick concession stand and a rental building wrapping around the slightly sunken rink's north end, and a massive brick-and-concrete patio overlooking the ice.
The highest towers along Central Park South are just visible over the edge of the surrounding tree line.
Trump and New York Parks Commissioner Henry Stern said the rink would be open to the public in about two weeks, giving Trump time to finish work on the concessions building and for thousands of new, rental skates to be shipped to the site.
Under the agreement, Trump will operate the rink for one year, donating any profits to a "mutually agreed charity." He announced yesterday that the Ice Capades organization had been hired to handle the day-to-day operation.
Trump said he "knew very little about ice rinks" when he stepped into the project, but was tired of hearing about the botched city efforts and "wanted to get it open."
He is rehabilitating a huge building on nearby Central Park South into luxury condominiums. The view from many of the more expensive units is of Wollman rink - which before Trump’s efforts had been a rusty, concrete scar on the park's southern perimeter.
"We completed two months ahead of schedule and that's a little change of pace and a nice thing to hear for a lot of New Yorkers," Trump said. "We pushed very hard. We had very good men . . . and it was something we really
put a lot of oomph into.”
City officials said Trump was able to finish the project so quickly because he’s a private developer, not encumbered by city regulations governing public construction projects.
Trump attributed his success to the inclusion of “really tough penalties" against contractors who fell behind schedule - penalties that would have put them out of business.
Under his agreement with the city, Trump paid for the entire renovation out of his own pocket, with the understanding that he'd be reimbursed upon completion up to an agreed-upon limit. The finished rink came in at $1.95 million, Trump said, which was $750,000 below the limit.
Button also announced yesterday that the rink would host an invitation-only fund-raising gala Nov. 22, featuring such Olympic champions as Peggy Fleming, Scott Hamilton and Dorothy Hamill.
"We did a job here and we put a lot of guts into it and we're proud of it," Trump said.
If Trump says he can get it done, I would not vote against him.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see him have a go at the F-35 project.
ReplyDeleteI doubt anybody can fix that.
DeleteThe earliest I've read that albatross to be combat ready is like 2035 or something, last I read, past Trump's two terms, and I doubt that date will be met.
I was familiar with the Wollman project because, there was a restoration of a pergola nearby and they needed some greenheart timber and I had a source in Guyana. I knew more about greenheart than I knew about Trump, but it was amusing to see Trump make a fool of the NYC bureaucracy.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he'll get the trains to run on time - just like that historical guy...
ReplyDeleteReally stupid comment by our libmoron.
Delete.
ReplyDeleteA chicken in every pot...
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A ruffed grouse in every pot.
DeleteThis is the same guy that bankrupted Four Companies, right?
ReplyDeleteOkay, fair's fair; if we need any skating rinks built, we'll give him a look.
It' the nature of capitalism.
DeleteSome ventures work, some don't.
It's not a safe government job from which it is impossible to be fired.
Pop quiz for all readers and commentators:
DeleteIn which large southern city is Rufus Tower located ?
Taking a company into a chapter can be a negotiation. Many times during voluntary or involuntary reorganizations, you can have many creditors that want to make a deal and a few that don’t. Some want a preference and when a company is in a mess, the banks don’t want to touch the deal. Secured lenders may want a company to reorganize under bankruptcy protection to speed up the process of getting the company back on track.
DeleteIt is also useful in dealing with lawyers that use the courts to force the company to make a deal adverse to other creditors.
Bankruptcy makes for a more rapid, efficient change and is a useful business tool. Most of the airlines were in and out of bankruptcy.
True there is chapter 11 reorganization and then there is stiffing the creditors as a company folds - what happened in his four kicks at that can? Did the companies emerge as viable organizations? How's Trump University faring these days? Was it one of the four?
DeleteIt has been my experience in business that there are two types of people who chose bankruptcy - one is where the experience of bankruptcy scars them so much 5hey will never do it again and the other who stiff folk as part of the game. The first do it once and vow never to do it again and the other...
DeleteDeuce,
DeleteHave you ever filed for bankruptcy? Ever even thought about it as a serious option as you conduct business?
Trump never filed for bankruptcy. He owned some companies that did.
DeleteAs part of my banking career, I worked for a commercial factor that did secured lending. We did DIP, debtor in possession financing, as a matter of course. It was useful and legal. It helped some clients stay afloat and if they recovered, which many did, everyone was better off.
We used it as a negotiating tool in getting creditors to be more cooperative in a restructuring plan. It was nothing personal.
The job was great. Our offices were on 6th Avenue catty-corner to Radio City Music Hall and we were a subsidiary of Bank of New York. We did 3 martini lunches around the corner at The 21 Club and had cigar humidors on our desks.
What was there not to like?
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ReplyDeleteThe number one concern in all of these primaries has been jobs and the economy. It's been the number one issue since the start of recession; yet, for years now neither party has taken ANY positive actions to address it. They have left everything up to the FED and the business cycle.
We know we will continue to get the same ol same ol with Hillary. We have a pretty good idea of what we will get with Cruz and Kasich. That leaves Sanders and Trump. The system was always stacked against Sanders and yesterday was the final nail in his coffin. That leaves Trump.
It's always dangerous to say 'it couldn't get any worse' but frankly it couldn't get 'much worse'.
Still, voting for Trump is buying a pig in a poke; but it appears that a large part of the public is so frustrated and angry they are willing to take that chance.
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I am getting the feeling both Deuce and Quirk are thinking about going Trump.
DeleteNeither seem capable of stomaching Hillary, reasonably enough.
If Hillary is indicted they may still have the choice of Bernie.
Deuce may buy that but I have confidence in Quirk.
I have no doubt what Rufus would do.
And what do you mean not ANY positive actions to address it ?
DeleteWhat was that Obama stimulus package all about ?
All those shovel ready jobs ?
All those solar plants built that are now nesting swallows ?
The whole thing turned out to be, as Michelle Malkin put it, a shit sandwich.
The Housing Bubble Crash was caused by government actions which GW Bush warned about in all eight of his State of the Union messages.
DeleteWaPo: One last indignity: The tea party swipes John Boehner’s seat
ReplyDeleteHot Air
I don't know how "angry" Americans can be, with the President's Approval Rating at 52%.
ReplyDeleteGallup
They are angry, but don’t try and dump it all on Obama.
Delete90% then ?
Delete85% ?
Whatever you say is fair I'll raise it by 20%.
Excepting the situation in the middle east where I'll go nearly all the way.
About 25% of Americans are "angry," and have been ever since the Civil Rights Act.
ReplyDeleteThe black guy in the White House certainly hasn't helped their mood any.
I'm sure the Rocket Shot that is Median Household Income isn't the reason for the Trumpiacs grouchiness -
ReplyDeleteHousehold Income
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteExcellent Trump ad of Hillary barking like a dog, Putin doing judo wrestling, and laughing -
ReplyDeleteTrump suggests Hillary not tough enough with video of her barking like a dog
posted at 3:01 pm on March 16, 2016 by John Sexton
Donald Trump began turning his attention to the likely Democratic nominee Wednesday, posting a brief video to his Instagram account which features a clip of Hillary Clinton barking like a dog.
The thrust of the clip is that Clinton is not tough enough to lead the U.S. in a dangerous world. A series of title cards read, “When it comes to facing our toughest opponents, the democrats have the perfect answer…” This is interspersed with video of Russian President Vladmir Putin doing judo and a masked man, possibly a member of ISIS, pointing a gun at viewers. Then the video cuts to Clinton barking. The clip closes with video of Putin laughing followed by a title card that reads, “We don’t need to be a punchline!”
Video
Arf, arf, arf here:
Deletehttp://hotair.com/archives/2016/03/16/trump-posts-video-of-hillary-barking-like-a-dog/
Yes, you will laugh.
Arf, arf, arf
:)
Race racist race. Race race race. Your a racist he's a racist. They're a racist. Race race race. Race racist race.
ReplyDeleteWell Mome, maybe you will be relieved when the next cycle leaves race behind and focuses on misogyny. Right Galopn2 - the misogynistic pubs are out to get your girl Hillary?
DeleteIs she your girl, too, Ash, or are you rooting for someone else to be the next president of the good ole USA?
ReplyDeleteI don't like Clinton and I don't like Trump. I am appalled at what appears to be the upcoming binary choice offered to the US electorate. It illustrates the dysfunction that us the US
DeleteSo if I dislike Obama, I'm a racist and if I dislike Clinton, I'm a misogynist? You guys are a laugh a minute.
ReplyDeleteIf I don't like English peas, what doesn't that make me?
DeleteI'm sure we will hear Galopn2 harping 9n misogyny just as he has on race. Heck, Bob just above provided him the ammo.
DeleteThe Pubs have got their hands full with Hillary. If I tried to help I'd probably just get in the way. :)
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the Rocket Shot that is Median Household Income isn't the reason for the Trumpiacs grouchiness -
You have put up that Sentier chart a number of times and I am still trying to figure out what you find so good about it.
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Good Lord; look at the last two years.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete.
Delete.
Hell, a good part of the last two years is due to Saudi Arabia. What you're looking at is a return to the mean. The numbers are still lower than they were when Obama took over. They are lower than they were in 2000. That's all people care about. Over 15 years and the average family is no better off than they were back then while the rich and powerful have move on up even further on easy street.
You want to know why people are pissed, that's it. Fifteen years, national debt goes from $5 trillion to $18 trillion, and what do they get out of it? Jack shit.
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DeleteThe RCP average puts Obama job approval at
Approve 49%
Disapprove 47%
But it also shows direction of the country at
Right Direction 27.8%
Wrong Direction 64.7%
and the divergence has been growing since early last year.
That's the money stat.
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Nominal Family Income at the start of Obama's first budget in Oct. 2009 was approx. $49,500.00
DeleteInflation from that date to Jan. of this year was, according to PCE, 9.5%.
49,500.00 X 109.5 = $54,202.50
Median Household Income in Jan. was $57,288.00
$57,288.00 - $54,202.50 = $3,085.50
So, the Median Family is $3,085.50, even after allowing for inflation, ahead of where they were on the date that Obama's first budget went into force.
Delete.
Delete:o)
Bullshit.
That's what the American people will tell you when you say,
"Sure, your real median income is lower today than it was when Obama came into office and sure, its been going on eight years now, but heck, if you pick the right dates during that seven years and if you take PCE instead of CPI for your calculations well then you could actually say you are doing great."
And the American people would then say, "Are you out of your friggin mind?"
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There would have been very little difference had I used CPI. I used PCE because (1) It's a better index, and (2) I Have the PCE interactive bookmarked.
DeleteThe American People aren't "pissed off." All of your Consumer Sentiment-type surveys show that.
That 25 to 30% that are beside themselves due to a successful Obama Administration are "pissed off."
That's about the same percentage of pissed-off racists that voted for George McGovern, and that paper-hanging Corporal, back in the day.
I admit that I haven't paid a lot of attention to it, but it seems like the "right track/wrong track" has been below 30 for most of my adult life.
DeleteGeorge "Wallace," not George Mcfreakin'govern.
Delete.
DeleteI believe you are mistaken.
Here is the RCP poll on direction of the country
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html
Gallup explains what is included in those numbers
Implications
Americans remain much more dissatisfied than satisfied with the state of the nation, and the economy and the way the government is operating are two of the major issues of concern. The economy and the government have consistently been named as the most important problems facing the country over the past five years.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/189869/americans-name-economy-government-top-problems.aspx?g_source=ECONOMY&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles
The same page touches on some of the points you just brought up.
But if you think the US is happy with zero wage growth, 2% growth, more people using welfare programs, the growth of lower paying jobs, a government that does nothing, deteriorating infrastructure, and on and on, you are nutz. IMO.
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Oh, I'm not saying people are, generally, tickled to death. But, there's a lot of difference between overjoyed with, and "pissed off."
DeleteYou used to give clickable links. What happened?
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DeleteYou keep me too busy. If I put up clickable links, I wouldn't get any sleep.
:o)
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Uncle Bob judges that Commenter Quirk has bested Commenter galopin2 in the above argument.
DeleteIt's official, then.
Quirk wins the argument.
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DeleteHeck, looks like you take the pot, Ruf.
And I was doing so well too.
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Trumpiac. Does that make you a Clintoniac ?
ReplyDeleteIf it suits you.
DeleteFive sheriff's deputies were disciplined Wednesday for failing to immediately arrest a man who elbowed a protester in the face at a Donald Trump rally last week in North Carolina.
ReplyDelete...
The sheriff's office had also weighed charging Trump with inciting a riot in connection with the incident, but quickly decided against doing so.
Talking about bankruptcy, I can hardly wait for Trump to get started on Clinton over her role in Libya and Syria.
ReplyDeleteHillary Clinton’s commitment to eliminate the Syrian government may ultimately capitulate into a World War if the United States does not elect a prudent head of state. (Clinton is NOT)
Clinton’s obsession with regime change, especially in Syria, is an extension of her irrational fear of Iran. The conflict in Syria has proven to not be one of democracy versus a dictator, but rather, foreign influence over a legitimate state.
The downfall of Syria would ultimately mean the growth of radical Islam which has been a trademark of the Clinton legacy. Hillary Clinton is not a diplomat and not qualified to be POTUS; she is a bloodthirsty and deranged woman with no respect for human rights and a true exemplar of corruption.
I have more confidence in a President Trump than I do in Hillary Clinton. Trump will demolish her.
Trump will get demolished.
DeleteIf you want to beat Hillary, pull for Kasich.
He's actually beating her (decisively) in Pennsylvania.
Trump will take risks where there is a win in the outcome. A win for the USA, and not do the bidding for Middle Eastern jackals. Trump wants to build up US infrastructure not destroy the infrastructure of others. He will eviscerate Clinton.
Delete:) Carry on Brother.
DeleteA bet:
DeleteYou pick the best restaurant in your area and I’ll bet you a dinner for two on me if I lose and I’ll give you odds. If I lose you buy me a pork sandwich at Dinic’s in The Reading Terminal Market.
Interesting economic stats, tomorrow. later.
DeleteSharp provolone, Italian peppers and broccoli rabe please.
DeleteWhat do I have to buy you if you Win?
Delete:) It doesn't matter; you're not going to win.
DeleteOkay, it's a bet. I need to take my little buddy over to the East Coast one of these days, anyway. :)
DeleteDeuce has just made a big mistake.
DeleteI bet Rufus that ISIS would not be wiped out of Iraq by July 1 of last year, and I clearly won.
I have yet to see my $100, or even a hint of it, though I have raised the subject often.
(the same applies to rat's ass, though the bet there was it only $5 or $10 dollars if I recall, and I've 'written it off')
I will gladly hold some money for the both of you on this one, to make certain Deuce gets paid if he wins.
Lesson:
NEVER VOTE WITH A CLINTONIAN DEMOCRAT -- YOU WON'T GET PAID IF YOU WIN
They are all shameless.
!!!!
A pulled pork sandwhich on a South Philly hoagie roll with sharp provolone, Italian peppers and rapini (broccoli rabe).
ReplyDeleteThat is what I'm supposed to buy you if you lose.
DeleteDeuce ☂Wed Mar 16, 11:46:00 PM EDT
A bet:
You pick the best restaurant in your area and I’ll bet you a dinner for two on me "if I lose" and I’ll give you odds. "If I lose" you buy me a pork sandwich at Dinic’s in The Reading Terminal Market.
Try and get that in Idaho.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I'm "getting in Idaho" is My Hat. :)
DeleteTRY AND GET PAID BY RUFUS - IT'S IMPOSSIBLE
DeleteThe closest you could get to that in Idaho is elk jerky on a hot dog roll with Kraft cheese.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a horrible thing to do to Kraft Cheese.
DeleteI'm going to bed. I'll give you a chance to back out in the morning. :)
DeleteTrump may end up independent, handing White House to Hillary.
DeleteOr, vice-versa
Trump may end up with Republican nomination causing Republican voters who do not support Trump to vote independent, handing White House to Hillary.
Pack your Cowboy boots and hat, Deuce, and get ready for a shit-kickin' BBQ. Yee-haw!
good night friend.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteIf Trump gets nominated it will be a bloodbath.
Trump has provided so much ammo and soundbites for the Hillary campaign it will go wall to wall with negative ads.
Hillary has so much to answer for and plenty of soundbites that the Trump campaign will be wall to wall with negative ads.
The debates should be something.
Definitely, worth the price of admission.
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Best humorous political and adult political entertainment of my lifetime.
DeleteLaughable, and nearly a blood sport too.
I certainly hope it doesn't become that last, but it all seems more than a little threatening.
Oh, well, if the Clinton Cabal brings a knife to the fight, we'll bring a gun !!
heh heh
(to quote the guy with the Nobel Peace Prize)
DeleteMr. Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech next week to AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel lobby that is an important bastion of support for the hawkish policies that Republicans generally espouse. Hebegan a more conventional bridge-building effort earlier this week by calling GOP leaders in Congress.
ReplyDeleteAnd he has started trying to speak more pointedly about his desire to bring the party together.
“I think there’s a natural healing process,” he said in the CNN interview. “Once the battle is over, once the war is over, I think there really is a natural healing process.”
You didn't know it but The Donald was victorious too in Northern Mariana Islands, but he was, yes he was....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/03/don_t_confuse_donald_trump_s_slim_margins_with_a_sign_of_weakness.html
Delete.
ReplyDeleteThe article Deuce put up on the last stream on influence peddling touches on some of the issues that will be raised against Hillary in this campaign. It also ties her to Bill. And the fact is that she has been linked politically with Bill at the national level for over 25 years.
Common wisdom is that the Clinton years were great for America. The following article points out that it wasn't all bubblegum and unicorns.
Bill Clinton’s odious presidency: Thomas Frank on the real history of the ’90s
The Clinton administration stuck it to minorities with the crime laws he pushed, the expansion of minimum sentencing, the growth of prisons, dual guidelines for heroin, it was the age of 'three strikes' and 'zero tolerance'; he stuck it to the poor with welfare reform, and the cutback in funds to the states; in line with the main article on the last stream remember that he rented out the Lincoln bedroom; on economics the dot-com bubble burst about the time he was walking out the WH door with the china, he deregulated derivatives and telecom, he deregulated the banks and gutted Glass-Steagall paving the way for 'too big to fail', we got Enron and WorldCom, he stuck it to the unions, he gave us NAFTA, a blow job and opposition from both parties prevented his plans to cut Social Security, and on and on all in line with his 'counter-scheduling' strategy, a strategy that Hillary approved and helped implement.
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I can't recall the phrase 'counter-scheduling' nor do I quite get what it's meaning is exactly.
ReplyDeleteAll I can come up with is it sounds to me like perhaps some strategy to avoid or void a date, which doesn't compute with what I do know of Billygoat Clinton, who ought to be in prison for rape.