Donald Trump offered Mayor Ed Koch a free rehabilitation of the premises. (Koch had unsuccessfully tried with the City to repair and restore the rink.)
And Trump did it within months. And in 1986, the City honored his donation of service.
But Trump wanted more. He wanted the rink's name changed from Wollman to Trump Skating Rink.
For years, that was the name.
Skating rink operation: 1986–2021
Wollman Rink in 2011
When the rink reopened in November 1986, ticket prices were raised from $2.50 to $4.50, and attendance was up from 130,000 in 1980 to 250,000 in 1987. As part of its agreement with the city, the Trump Organization donated most of the profit to public works, including $50,000 for the rink's electricity costs, and to charity, among them United Cerebral Palsy, Partnership for the Homeless, and Gay Men's Health Crisis.
The Trump Organization held the concession until 1995, when M&T Pretzel Inc. outbid Trump for a six-year contract to operate Wollman and Lasker skating rinks. A Trump-owned subsidiary, Wollman Rink Operations LLC, won another concession in 2001 to operate the rinks until April 30, 2021. Wollman Rink Operations LLC is owned by DJT Holdings LLC, which was owned by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust during Trump's first presidency.
Fast Forward: A 2007 city comptroller review found that Trump's operation had underreported its revenue from the rink by $106,608, thus shortchanging the city.
In 2019, the Trump Organization removed the Trump name from most signs and logos at both Wollman and Lasker Rinks without giving a reason. During its last season of operation, the Trump Organization charged admission fees of $12 for adults from Monday to Thursday, $19 on Friday to Sunday and holidays, and $6 all week for youths 11 and under.
Cancellation of Trump Organization contracts
In January 2021, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city government would be severing all contracts with the Trump Organization, citing Trump's involvement in the previous week's storming of the United States Capitol. The cancellation of the Trump Organization's contracts to operate Wollman Rink, Lasker Rink, and the Central Park Carousel was supposed to go into effect on February 26. The city later allowed the rinks to stay open until the scheduled end of the skating season. The Trump concession expired in April 2021.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollman_Rink#:~:text=A%202007%20city%20comptroller%20review,Rinks%20without%20giving%20a%20reason.
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