Investor Carl Icahn wants to tear down a casino that Trump built in the 1980s, and he wants New Jersey to pay for it.
The Associated Press reported that Icahn gained preliminary approval from the New Jersey’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to use $5.6 million in investment tax credits to help raze the Trump Plaza casino. The demolition will cost $13.2 million in total. But New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney has called on the agency to reject the deal, saying the money is intended to promote economic development “for the city and its residents,” not for use on the businessman’s own properties.
This is not the first run-in between Sweeney and Icahn. Last year, the N.J. Senate president targeted Icahn with legislation that would have punished him for shutting down the Trump Taj Mahal casino after a labor dispute that led to a month-long strike over health insurance and pension terms. Icahn said the strike had hurt the casino’s profitability. He sold the property because the legislation threatened to strip him of a casino license for the property for five years.
Icahn acquired the Tromp Taj Mahal and the Trump Plaza when he bought the parent company that owned both, The Trump Plaza casino has been shut since 2014. Neither Trump nor Icahn owned the property when the casino closed down. Icahn’s plans to develop the site have not yet been determined.