Trump’s Bronx golf course lost $122,000 last year

President Donald Trump’s company operates a city-owned golf course in the Bronx under a contract that makes it far easier for Trump to turn a profit. New York City agreed to pay Trump’s massive irrigation bills. And, for the first four years, it didn’t require Trump to pay a cent in rent on 192 acres.

Despite all that, Trump’s course lost money for the first time last year — running $122,000 in the red, according to a new filing with the city.

The loss for the past operating year, from April 2018 to March 2019, is the latest bad financial news for Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. It comes as other Trump golf courses — from his Doral resort in Florida to his expensive courses in Scotland and Ireland — have reported declining revenue, or outright losses, during Trump’s polarizing presidency.

In the Bronx, Trump’s course is built on top of an old landfill, with views of the East River. It opened two months before Trump entered the 2016 presidential race. Since then, overall revenue has fallen 14 percent, according to documents filed with the city.

The latest filing — an annual “income statement” in which Trump’s company summarized the club’s income and expenses — was released by the city parks department. The filing revealed a previously hidden dispute over a gas pipe.

In the filing, Trump’s company said that an “inadequate gas pipe installed by” New York City had caused its losses by delaying the opening of the course’s new clubhouse.

Although Trump’s company held an elaborate opening ceremony for the clubhouse in June 2018, the company said it didn’t open until this year. It said, the clubhouse restaurant and pro shop might have produced enough revenue to turn a profit.

“Our letter to the city says it all and speaks for itself,” said Alan Garten, an attorney for the Trump Organization.

Before last year, the Bronx golf course had managed to turn a profit of about $500,000 per year — helped by the city paying its water bills and not asking for rent.

Geoffrey Croft, of the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates blamed the Trump club’s high greens fees, which top out at $224 per round. Most of the city’s other public courses charge $53 at most.

Trump’s company now faces a new challenge: Next year, the club will have to pay the city at least $300,000 in fees.