In the Bronx, Trump’s name is replaced on a golf course

As closing arguments began Thursday in President Donald J. Trump’s civil fraud trial in Manhattan, his name disappeared from a Bronx golf course that had long welcomed drivers to the borough with a large sign reading “TRUMP LEFT.”

The golf course is under new management and Mayor Eric Adams attended a rebranding event Thursday at the course, formerly known as the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. The new operator, Bally’s Corporation, unveiled a new sign: “BALLY LEFT.”

The sign’s removal was another example of Trump’s retreat from New York City — the city he once called home and where he became a celebrity. Last year, Bally’s Corporation purchased the license to operate the 400-acre golf course that the city had tried and failed to wrest from the control of Mr. Trump’s company.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat who has been critical of Mr. Trump, did not take the opportunity to bash the former president on Thursday. But he made it clear that he saw the change as a way to boost tourism in the Bronx.

“Let’s make sure this is a turning point in the greatness of the great borough, with great people who have great expectations,” Mr Adams said.

The change in management was welcome news to some Democrats in New York. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio tried to terminate the Trump Organization’s lease of the public golf course after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, arguing that the city had the right to do so because the former president had engaged in criminal activity. The argument failed in court.

Bally’s hopes to win a casino bid for the Bronx site – part of a competition for up to three casino licenses in the New York City area.

The golf course joins other projects in the city that have removed the former president’s name, including hotels and apartment buildings. In late 2017, Trump’s owner paid SoHo to remove Mr. Trump’s name from what is now the Dominick Hotel.