Talk:Wollman Rink

where is it
so where is the rink? Avraham (talk) 05:28, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

What closed in 2010?
In 1961 Kate Wollman's estate donated funds for Wollman Rink in Prospect Park which closed in 2010. Among her other philanthropies was paying for the schooling of great nephew Henry Wollman Bloch, founder of H&R Block. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.99.127.43 (talk) 21:00, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Donald Trump and the Wollman Rink
In the article it states that "Koch initially objected but later agreed to Trump's proposal when Trump offered to pay for the renovations himself with the stipulation that he be allowed to run the venue and an adjacent restaurant and use the profits to recoup his costs."

This article is factually inaccurate. In The Art of the Deal, Mr. Trump clearly states that he had agreed to "[...] put up all the money for the construction of the rink." He would then "be reimbursed, over as many years as it took, from any profits the rink earned."

Apparently the city rejected this proposal, insisting that it wouldn't allow Mr. Trump to "make a profit on the rink." Instead, the city officials came up with a counterproposal: "[He'd] still put up the $3 million, as a way of getting around the competitive-bidding issue, but on the day [he] finished, the city would reimburse [him] in full [...] up to a cap of just less than $3 million, but only if the rink worked." (The Art of the Deal, pp.306/307)

According to Mr. Trump, the project "[came] in over more than $750,000 under [its] $3 million budget. With the city's blessing, [Trump] used the money to renovate the adjacent skatehouse and restaurant." (The Art of the Deal, pp.318)

In fact, the NY Times article from 1986 cited in the reference section too clearly states that "Mr. Trump had originally offered to rebuild the rink at his own expense if the city would let him operate it and an adjacent restaurant and use the profits to recoup his costs. But the agreement does not give Mr. Trump any claim on the operation of the rink or the restaurant."

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
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 * Duke Ellington Circle jeh.JPG

Cancellation of Trump's contract
To the extent that de Blasio may be opposing Trump to score political points (a claim I don't disagree with), it is misleading to call the cancellation of Trump's concession "trivia". Such sections are typically composed of content such as popular culture information and other such details that are tangential to the article. Trump, by contrast, was a major concessionaire who operated the rink for close to 30 years (and continuously for 20 of these years). The cancellation of his contract, political as it may have been, isn't by any means "trivia", as NYC Parks searching for a new concessionaire is a major event in the rink's history. Thus, I have changed the header to reflect this. Epicgenius (talk) 13:43, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I agree that that's a better header. Couldn't think of anything at the time—sometimes you don't see the forest for the trees. I do think, though, that the bidding process and the Conservancy's proposal ought to go back to where they were. Neither were a consequence of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The Conservancy first made the proposal last fall, and the Parks Department told them at the time that they were already preparing a competitive bidding process for a 5-year contract (WSJ source). Space4Time3Continuum2x (talk) 14:14, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
 * , that makes sense. In this case, I will move them back. I had just arranged these chronologically because the 2021 tender just happened to coincide with Trump's contract being canceled a few months early. Epicgenius (talk) 14:17, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence :) Space4Time3Continuum2x (talk) 14:23, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Indeed. The cancellation of the contract, in practice, served merely to prevent him from applying for a renewal. So I totally understand the sentiment that it may be "trivia". My concern was that readers probably wouldn't have seen it that way. Epicgenius (talk) 15:44, 24 May 2021 (UTC)

Daily News
Regarding this edit summary, which says in part "Rmv unreliable source (tabloid)", I think there is some confusion between tabloid (newspaper format) (a physical format that accurately describes the Daily News) and tabloid journalism (a style that exaggerates info to the point of being "unverifiable or even blatantly false"). WP:RSP says: Most editors consider the content of New York Daily News articles to be generally reliable, but question the accuracy of its tabloid-style headlines.

I do agree the headlines may be tabloid-style. However, the content itself is a different matter, and I haven't found evidence that the Daily News has exaggerated basic news stories to make them unverifiable or false. I've re-added the source to provide additional verification, but I'm open to other opinions. Epicgenius (talk) 17:34, 8 July 2021 (UTC)


 * You may be right; I don't usually read the Daily News. The article doesn't add anything not covered by the AP article. The REW article you added is a better source, I think—has some additional details the other sources don't mention, for example that NYC Parks selected a company led by Steven Ross of $250,000 a pop fundraiser for Trump fame. I wonder whether that'll come up at the Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) public hearing ... on July 21, 2021. Space4Time3Continuum2x (talk) 19:41, 8 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I only realized after the fact that the NYDN source was completely unnecessary, since it was paywalled and duplicated the AP article. The REW article was interesting, though, since the AP source didn't elaborate so much on the joint venture's members. The link you posted might be useful as well if that issue comes up during that meeting in 2 weeks, but we'll have to see. Epicgenius (talk) 21:05, 8 July 2021 (UTC)

New rink operator
The "deal moved closer to completion", and, "since the mayor controls the board, it was likely to sail through regardless" but it hasn't been finalized. I removed the link to the former official website (still said "Trump" in the lower left corner and listed the son of former Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg as one of the managers).