On Wednesday morning (Jan. 13), Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City is cutting ties with the Trump Organization, which will include severing all public contracts that the president’s company has with the city.
On Twitter, de Blasio said New York City was ending the agreements due to Trump supporters’ attack on the Capitol last week. The Trump Organization currently manages a golf course in the Bronx, two ice skating rinks and the carousel at Central Park — pulling in around $17 million annually for the four sites.
“New York City doesn’t do business with insurrectionists,” de Blasio tweeted. “We’re taking steps to TERMINATE agreements with the Trump Organization to operate the Central Park Carousel, Wollman and Lasker skating rinks, and the Ferry Point Golf Course.”
According to reports, de Blasio cited “criminal activity” as legal grounds to end the contracts with Trump’s company.
“They’ll likely challenge us in court, but we’re on strong legal ground,” he told reporters Wednesday.
The mayor added that the PGA Championship is expected to support the city’s decision to terminate the contract, since championship games are no longer played at Trump’s golf courses. According to de Blasio, the contract — which was established during Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s administration — required that championship games be held there to remain valid.
Upon terminating the contracts, the city will then begin looking for other vendors who can take over management of the sites. De Blasio said he expects Trump will try to fight the decision and pursue legal action.
The New York City mayor’s announcement arrived as the House of Representatives moves to impeach the president. Debates about Trump’s impeachment charges began on Wednesday at 9 a.m. EST, and an official vote on the matter is expected this afternoon.
See de Blasio’s tweet below.