Mayor Marty Small Sr. announced Thursday that the city of Jersey Shore is auctioning off the opportunity to push the button that will trigger the implosion of the already closed Trump Plaza hotel and casino.
The city plans to donate the money raised to the Boys & Girls Club in Atlantic City.
“Personally, I’m a pretty ambitious guy. I want to raise at least a million dollars,” Small said at a news conference Thursday.
The funds will be used to expand and maintain the club’s operations for its three locations across the city, Stephanie Koch, CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City, told CNN.
The club serves up to 1,200 children a year and has expanded its operations in the midst of the pandemic to 12 hours a day, Koch said.
“The Boys & Girls Club is no longer a simple after-school program,” Koch said at the news conference, noting that the club now offers meals, academic enrichment and workforce development programs.
Initially scheduled around New Year’s Eve, the demolition of the building is scheduled for early February. Bids are already being conducted in line with “many actions already,” the mayor said.
Trump Plaza announced its closure in 2014. Currently, billionaire investor Carl Icahn owns the site, Small said.
“Listen, don’t be fooled. Carl Icahn is a major player in this city and we appreciate all the contributions he made to the great city of Atlantic City,” Small said, adding that he hopes future development will contain a little kind of family entertainment component.
He said his administration will help in any way it can in the future of the site.
At the time of its closure, Trump only owned the name of the Taj, and Icahn controlled the rest.
CNN has contacted a Trump Organization spokesman to comment.