A bitter Donald Trump has dumped plans to build two of the four posh golf courses he had proposed for Westchester County.
And the frustrated developer is blaming his abrupt about-face on the lengthy permit process demanded by local politicians in Yorktown, a wealthy bedroom community 35 miles north of Manhattan.
In a bitter letter to Yorktown Supervisor Linda Cooper, Trump beefed:
“You have done a terrible disservice to your constituents who have sadly lost out on a tremendous opportunity.”
The developer also hinted Yorktown is now in for an even tougher planning haul because the property will be sold to housing builders.
Still, as far as Yorktown officials are concerned, it’s good riddance to The Donald.
While Cooper admitted a golf course was preferable to homes, she complained to the Westchester Journal-News that Trump “is like the bully on the playground.”
“Whether you are a big person or a little person, you have to follow the same rules.”
The billionaire real-estate tycoon said he had spent $1 million in four years on blueprints and consultants for the $10 million course at French Hill in Yorktown, now a 155-acre forest.
But the town – as well as the state and New York City, which owns much of the watershed across the property – raised water-quality questions that have stalled approvals.
“I got tired of Linda Cooper’s delays,” Trump said.
“My problem is I can make much more money with housing than I can with a golf course.”
Trump would not name a buyer for the 155-acre forest, but said it should draw interest from “every developer in Westchester.”
Plans for a second course, just to the north in Putnam County, are also getting the hook because some of that land is also in Yorktown, Trump said.
“The people in Putnam County have been great, but some of that property is in Yorktown, and based on the negative reception I received there, I have put a ‘For Sale’ sign out,” he said.
Meanwhile, The Trump National Golf Course in Briarcliff Manor is scheduled to open this spring.
And Trump is still pushing for Seven Springs, a course that would be built in Bedford, New Castle and North Castle.