New push to rename Donald Trump state park amid complaints – By Nick Fiorrelini (The Guardian) / Feb 3 2021
Lawmakers and residents hope name change could spotlight social justice – and encourage donations
For years, Sandy Galef has received complaints and questions from many of her constituents over the Donald J Trump state park in suburban New York.
And since Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol earlier this year, lawmakers, advocates and residents are once again pushing to rename the underdeveloped 436-acre park in hopes of sparking a dialogue on social justice and spurring much-needed private contributions to improve the space.
Galef, a New York assemblywoman who started investigating whether the park’s name could be changed at the start of Trump’s presidency, chose earlier this month to push to rename the park after the former New York governor George Pataki, who also represented the park area as an assemblyman and a state senator.
“[Pataki] has an attachment to the area and has lived here,” said Galef. “There hasn’t been anything named after him and he’s an environmentalist. I think when people think back on his legacy, they’ll think about the environment. And so it just seemed to me that this might be a good naming opportunity.”
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