Skaters on both Central Park tracks are devastated that this weekend will be the last on the ice this season, and they are angry with Mayor Blasio for closing Trump’s tracks prematurely despite the his political enemy.
The Post announced on Saturday that the Lasker and Wollman tracks will close on Sunday, six weeks before their typical April closing dates.
Last month, Hizzoner announced he was canceling the city’s contracts with the Trump Organization, alleging that then-President Trump had encouraged riot police to storm the Capitol.
Trump’s business group, led by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, who has been exploiting the tracks for over 30 years.
Skaters who hit the ice on Saturday told The Post that they felt like pawns in de Blasio’s political game.
“The real people hurting are the 2,500 kids who have benefited from the skating program this season and the 250 innocent employees who have been doing this for us,” Lee Krausner, 49, said as he watched his skates two daughters.
Also Saturday, the Trump Organization released a letter about closing a door on Wollman’s runway.
Next to the letter was a notice about a request to prevent the track from closing soon. The petition, initiated by figure skater Serena Sabet, had more than 1,700 signatures on Saturday afternoon.
“I was very upset. I’ve literally skated there since I was 3 years old. …. We know everyone here, it’s like a second family “, said Sabet, 18, who was on the track on Saturday. “This is our last year. So many things have already been ruined.
Marc Weitzman, who has taught figure skating to Wollman for 12 years, told The Post that de Blasio’s decision will affect young skaters more than Trump.
“I understand politics, I understand it, but I think in this particular situation the ones who end up hurting are the kids and everyone we teach here,” Weitzman, 44, said.
The parks department is looking for a new concessionaire company to run the tracks, but no job proposals will be submitted until March 19th. The city also plans to terminate contracts with the Trump Organization for the Central Park carousel and Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx.
The mayor was unable to explain Friday why another dealership was not found before the runways closed and did not answer questions from The Post on Saturday.
“I would like someone in the city to take the lashes. Bloomberg, or any other, one of the big corporations so kids don’t have to suffer, ”said Francois Ragot, 50, whose son has been playing hockey at Lasker for the past decade.
“It was very sad,” he said. “Last night, the kids were playing hockey and we realized there were no games the rest of the season.”