Law Reintroduced To Rename Trump State Park

YORKTOWN, NY — Two state legislators are calling for the renaming of Donald J. Trump State Park.

The legislation — S3166/A5127 — was reintroduced by Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg, D-Westchester-Putnam, and state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, D-Manhattan, who said the park’s association with the former president is contributing to its neglect and sparse visitation.

The bill’s memo said that “New York State has always been known for welcoming and embracing people of all cultures and backgrounds, and even our park system reflects these values. … The names of these parks and green spaces should do the same.”

Levenberg said she has received many unprompted messages from constituents who are dismayed driving by signs for the state park.

“Frankly, it is triggering for many people to have a daily reminder of the hatred and vitriol Donald Trump unleashed in our nation’s politics,” she said. “Having one’s name on a park or a sign along our roadways is an honor, one that Donald Trump does not deserve, given his behavior.”

Hoylman said that, once again, the former president has called for public protests.

“The last time he rallied his supporters, five people were killed and mass destruction of the U.S. Capitol ensued,” he said. “Our public spaces should be named after people that embody the values of civility and inclusivity that New Yorkers are proud to honor. Our bill makes clear that Donald Trump is not that person.”

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The bill, also informally known as the “Anyone But Trump Act,” passed the state Senate June 10, 2021. But the Assembly didn’t take up the matter before its session ended.

The park is a 436-acre site straddling Westchester and Putnam counties.

Trump donated the land to the state in 2006 after he was unable to build a golf course there.

The donation of the land, which the former president purchased for $2 million, was valued at $100 million for tax write-off purposes. It never became a park, but there were signs put up along the Taconic State Parkway and at entrances.

There have been efforts to rename the park in the past.

In 2017, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic of Queens proposed renaming the part of the park that’s in Yorktown after Heather D. Heyer, who was killed by a driver during the Charlottesville white supremacy protest.

When Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, D-Ossining, was in office, she suggested just removing the signs on the Taconic, since the park didn’t really exist as a park.

A wrinkle in any scheme to rename the park is that the former president opposes giving it another name. While there are no conditions in the contract he signed giving away the land, his lawyer wrote a letter which the state acknowledged, stipulating that the name be prominently displayed, the Gannett Albany Bureau reported.