Trump on the Ocean Opponent Planning to Fight Possible Deal in Court

One of the most vocal opponents to Donald Trump’s planned restaurant catering facility at  in Wantagh is already gearing up for a legal battle if the famed real estate mogul and the state end up striking a deal for the long-stalled development.

Trump and the administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that could lead to the developer being allowed to construct his catering hall at the site of the former Boardwalk Café at Jones Beach, Newsday reported last week. Longtime Nassau County civic activist Patricia Friedman, who has been one of the staunchest critics to the Trump on the Ocean project, said the state should not be negotiating a deal with Trump, who she feels should have never been given rights to the seafront property to begin with. Trump’s $30 million Jones Beach project has been held up in litigation the last four years due to the State Review Board objecting to plans for a basement in a flood zone.

“I am reaching out for an attorney to be prepared for a possible injunction," said Friedman, a Garden City Park resident who ran unsucessfully for State Assembly in the 21st district two years ago. “We have to stop Donald Trump from taking over our historical park.”

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Friedman has expressed support for resurrecting the Boardwalk Café, which sat on the site where Trump wants to build a 70,000 square-foot restaurant catering facility before it was demolished in 2004. Friedman said a major part of her possible court case against Trump will argue that the state did not conduct a fair bidding process for the open Jones Beach property.

Last year in an attempt to jumpstart the catering hall project, which was first conceived in late 2006, the  Alliance to Revitalize Jones Beach organized a  at Jones Beach State Park attended by Trump. Last fall, the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce  for the Trump on the Ocean proposal.  

Officials for the Trump Organization did not return calls seeking comment. 

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