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Do You Think NY State Should Rename Donald J. Trump State Park?
- Yes
- No
- Undecided
Lawmakers are calling on the state to rename the approximately 435-acre park that stretches between Yorktown and Putnam Valley in the wake of Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol during the riots in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6.
In a letter to New York States Park Commissioner Erik Kulleseid earlier this month, Assemblywoman Sandy Galef called for the renaming of the park, as well as for the removal of advertising for the park on the Taconic State Parkway.
“We want people to be comfortable using our parks. His name will discourage the public from enjoying all our state has to offer.”
Galef said that since Trump did not sign the appropriate documents with the state - he signed with former county officials - the state has the grounds to step in and make the change.
“Monuments, landmarks, and parks can hold a symbolic meaning and in this case a park named for Donald J. Trump can only represent the division he has sought to create in our country over the past four years,” Galef said.
“This division has no place in our state,” she added. “Motorists have complained about the Trump signs on the Taconic for years, and we must take a stand.”
According to reports, Kulleseid said this week that he was “evaluating” an agreement made more than a decade ago that states the park must bear the Trump name after he donated the land that was signed by Parks Department staff in 2006.
Names under consideration if the park is rebranded include Heather Heyer, who was killed during a counter-protest in Charlottesville in 2017, abolitionist Sojourner Truth, or former Gov. George Pataki, a Garrison resident and former Peekskill mayor who was in office when the deal with Trump to secure the land was brokered.
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