How Donald Trump helped save New York City

nypost.com ^ | February 7, 2016 | 6:00am | Steve Cuozzo

[Trumpinator]

How Donald Trump helped save New York City

By Steve Cuozzo

February 7, 2016 | 6:00am

Long before Donald Trump stamped his name in gold on buildings around the world, posted snarky midnight tweets and joined the race for the White House, he was New York’s most important and bravest real-estate developer.

Whatever you think about his political views or crazy campaign, Trump doesn’t get enough credit for being a transformative planner who is in love with the city.

No matter how many times they watch “Taxi Driver,” younger New Yorkers and older ones who arrived recently have no idea of what the city was actually like in the mid-1970s through the mid-’90s. Notwithstanding Studio 54 and a short-lived Wall Street boom, the metropolis was reeling. Rampant street crime, AIDS, corporate flight and physical decay brought confidence to an all-time low.

Trump waded into a landscape of empty Fifth Avenue storefronts, the dust-bowl mugging ground that was Central Park and a Wall Street area seemingly on its last legs as companies moved out.

Except in Battery Park City, which was then as remote as an offshore island, few other developers built anything but plain-vanilla office and apartment buildings. Trump — almost by force of will — rode to the rescue. Expressing rare faith in the future, he was instrumental in kick-starting the regeneration of neighborhoods and landmarks almost given up for dead.

[conservativesister]

Take out all the Politically Correct candidates and that lowers the field considerably. How many “sacred” topics has Trump brought front and center, bringing out the dirty little secrets like at the debate as to who was in the audience.
Trump is not perfect, but he’s not afraid of the establishment and the rest except for Cruz are in lock step to the establishment.

[DoughtyOne]

It’s hard to read this and think it isn’t excellent resume material for the presidency.

God forbid he should be able to do this for the nation.

Folks, get a grip.

[nopardons]

LOL...yes, it always has been “COOL” ! :-)

[nopardons]

BOVINE EXCREMENT !

You're a LIAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dangus]

OK... so why did he give HUGE amount of money... hundreds of thousands of dollars to folks like Mayor Di Blasio, Bill Clinton, Mitch McConnell’s kill the tea-party fund, etc.? You scream, but did he do it for graft, or because he actually wanted those left-wing nutjobs to run the country instead of folks like Bevin?

[SamuraiScot]

Wrong. This is not the 1700s.

The 1700s weren't ancient Greece, ancient Rome, or medieval Europe, which were the experimental ground the Founders used to design a government where liberty and virtue would flourish. And yet the principles they pulled from their research worked, because human nature doesn't change.

The whole Leftist error is built on the Progressive vision--a faith that you, like the Democrats, seem to cherish--which holds that the present is unique, human nature evolves, and the lessons of the past are useless. Leftist experiments in government always fail in the same ways: tyranny, bankruptcy, and slaughter. That's because human nature does not, in fact, change. Which is why we must put our faith in principles, rather than princes--even if they are named Trump and have proved themselves in business and television. I don't think he understands enough of the mechanics and effects of governing not to lead us into more of the same trouble we're in.

You're correct that Trump has some excellent leadership qualities. But his inability to "recite law" where it doesn't concern leases and contracts is a stopper, and his incomprehension of the separation of powers--on which our liberty rests--is a dangerous flaw. And I can't detect any curiosity on his part to learn what he doesn't know.

Trump is a man on a horse. A wonderful thing in battle. I don't think he'd be our worst President, by any means. He has some great instincts, and his breaking the glass of PC has been a service to all humanity. But he's basically a Progressive. He thinks that he, as the embodiment of the Federal government, can do anything. He's wrong, and that's not what we need.

George Washington was a man on a horse who understood that statecraft is a craft, and that the principles that guide the way we build and execute laws have frighteningly powerful leverage on human destiny. A leader needs to know which direction to lead.

[b4me]

“We hve the possibility of nominating and electing a candidate with a constitutionalist conservative record.”

who can’t seem to get anything done!

so what’s the point of electing such a polarizing person?

[poconopundit]

...During the Civil War the north promoted generals based on their adherence the party line over their generalship abilities. It did not work out so well.

Yes, and Lincoln finally settled on Ulysses S. Grant, a General Patton of his time.   And Grant won the war.

Pennsylvania politician Alexander McClure approached Lincoln about Grant saying:

I appealed to Lincoln for his own sake to remove Grant at once, and, in giving my reasons for it, I simply voiced the admittedly overwhelming protest from the loyal people of the land against Grant's continuance in command.

...When I had said everything that could be said from my standpoint, we lapsed into silence.

Lincoln remained silent for what seemed a very long time. He then gathered himself up in his chair and said in a tone of earnestness that I shall never forget:

I can't spare this man; he fights.

[Senator Goldwater]

Make America great again!

[poconopundit]

Good post.   And thanks for the sincere testimonies on what Trump has done for New York City.   It's inspiring.

In the Navy, I remember the Executive Officer on my destroyer had a sign above his cabin desk that said, "One hundred attaboys are wiped out by one aw' sh*t."

Sad but true.   But on FR, I think one personal testimony of praise about a man negates 100 jeers from the bleachers.

Rather than dissing Trump's good deeds, maybe the fans of other candidates can submit similar FR posts on the accomplishments and heroic acts of their own candidates.   Maybe they already have.

Please send me a link and I promise to read them for my education.  I will not sneer at them.

[dragnet2]

You're correct that Trump has some excellent leadership qualities. But his inability to "recite law" where it doesn't concern leases and contracts is a stopper, and his incomprehension of the separation of powers--on which our liberty rests--is a dangerous flaw.

You speak of flaw?

Trump is near genius at making deals. Besides, great leaders hire great people, the best of the best. Not just their political doners and cronies. It's what's F'd us over.

Trump will bring on board people that will make great trade deals which will actually benefit America instead of economically gang banging it. Best of the best, a team who've actually done great things and contributed.

A tiny example of their fraud and deceit in D.C.? For decades, lawyers/politicians have rolled out the red carpet for tens of millions to enter illegally. During war time yet. While America gets robbed, murdered, raped, knifed and ran over, while being forced to subsided all of it to the tune of hundreds of billions every few years.

This is chaotic bull shit, not leadership. I want to elect a leader, not yet another pre-paid law clerk turned career politician.

[infool7]

Your description of 1970’s New York reminds me of a movie “City by the Sea” with Robert De Niro it was actually filmed in 2000 in Asbury Park New Jersey, I don’t think they needed to make any changes to the scenery it conveyed a sense of total hopelessness.

[SamuraiScot]

I want to elect a leader, not yet another pre-paid law clerk turned career politician.

I'm actually not sure what there is to disagree on there. Trump talks every so often about letting illegals come back and get right in line again once they've been found here and thrown out. That's when he wants to sound like a nice guy. I think that's a terrible idea.

That's the kind of flaw I'm talking about--apparently shocking you. He talks tough, but the next week he says something that suggests he hasn't thought it through.

If he's in office, he's not going to be able to wing it like that. So, what identity he's likely to settle on--whether it's the tough, Constitutional leader informed by the fact that illegal aliens have no rights here, or soft-hearted, "touch-back" guy--isn't knowable. And it's the difference between success and disaster. We've had "compassionate" conservatism, and that dog won't hunt.

[dragnet2]

Nothing shocks me. You need to understand, it wasn’t Trump who created this epic disaster, nor did he spin Middle America into a decline. That came from the deceitful in D.C.

Try to keep up. If it were not for Trump, those pre-paid lawyers and politicians wouldn’t even be talking about their endless destructive chain immigration policies or these lawless chaotic violent borders.

[apocalypto]

Good point.

[SamuraiScot]

Try to keep up. If it were not for Trump . . . their endless destructive chain immigration policies or these lawless chaotic violent borders.

As you know, Cruz and a few Congressional colleagues have been talking about conservative issues like these against unified RINO, Democratic, and media opposition for years. It's great that Trump came in with so much energy and theater. The question is what's next.

As far as your high-school freshman drool goes ("Try to keep up"? Rilly?), you can certainly stuff it.

[dragnet2]

BS. The lawyers and politicians gave America nothing but lip services for decades. None of this chaos was a mistake or happenstance. It was one big con-job at the expense of millions of Americans, including many thousands who paid the ultimate price. Vote and profits regardless of consequences.

I’d say the jig is up for them.

[dragnet2]

you can certainly stuff it.

New age term? Btw, you seem angry. Maybe some cookies would help. Just make sure it's not from Nabisco.

[Impy]

Trump should run for Governor of NY.

[miss marmelstein]

Yes, it would be nice if people posted the good deeds of their candidates - aside from political accomplishments (if any).