Bloomberg "Not Sure" The Donald Got A Good Deal

Ray Rivera of the New York Times talks to New York mayor Michael Bloomberg about the sweetheart deal the city gave Donald Trump to manage its Jack Nicklaus-designed Ferry Point muni. Seems the Mayor is openly suggesting the city did not give the contractor a good deal in this case and he's basing this on the state of the golf industry.

The course, now under construction on a former landfill in the shadow of the Whitestone Bridge in the southeast Bronx, is expected to be completed by the fall of 2013 and ready for play by the following spring.

On Monday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg defended the proposed arrangement with Mr. Trump’s company.

“I’m not sure he got a great deal,” Mr. Bloomberg said. He later added: “These are not terribly profitable things in this day and age. More golf courses are closing than opening across the country."

Not so long ago, the proposed golf course seemed like a potential gold mine for the city.

In 2000, the city granted a developer, Ferry Point Partners, a 35-year lease in exchange for financing the project. The developer also promised to pay the city at least $1.25 million in annual licensing fees. But construction of the course, which was scheduled to open in 2001, was plagued by problems, including the discovery of toxic substances in the soil, including high levels of methane gas from rotting garbage beneath the site.