Long before Donald J. Trump was president, New Yorkers were accustomed to seeing his name emblazoned on buildings, golf courses — even a state park.
But in the years since he entered politics, Mr. Trump’s once potent personal brand has soured in his home state amid legal and political scrutiny.
His name has gradually disappeared from skyscrapers in Manhattan, golf courses in the Bronx and skating rinks in the heart of Midtown.
And now, less than 24 hours after he became the first American president to be convicted of a felony, state lawmakers are looking to revive a push to strip Mr. Trump of one of his few remaining monuments: Donald J. Trump State Park.
Located some 35 miles north of the New York City border, the park — whose signage dots the Taconic State Parkway in northern Westchester County — has generally attracted more curiosity and disapproval than it has visitors.
Mr. Trump donated the 436-acre plot to the State of New York in 2006 after plans to develop it into a luxurious private golf course fell apart. He had purchased the land for less than $3 million in the late 1990s, and received a substantial tax deduction in return. The precise value of this gift is not clear, but Mr. Trump has valued it at $26.1 million. For the 2006 tax year, he reported noncash charitable contributions of $34 million on his tax returns.
But without an endowment to fund park maintenance, or additional support from the state, the park fell into disrepair. By 2010, the state had opted to shutter it rather than pay for its upkeep, enraging the future president.
“If they’re going to close it, I’ll take the land back,” he fumed to a New York Times reporter at the time.
For nearly a decade, the park moldered, becoming overgrown and covered in graffiti. An attempt to turn a portion of the land into a dog park was halted after it was discovered that one of the structures on the property contained asbestos.
In 2019, State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Democrat of Manhattan, proposed removing Mr. Trump’s name from the park, arguing that keeping the then-president’s name was contrary to the state parks’ mission of uplifting and unifying New Yorkers. The measure passed the Senate in 2021, but has yet to come to the floor of the Assembly.
A current version of the bill has been filed, but has yet to make it out of committee. And with just four legislative days left in the session before it is scheduled to end on June 6, any bill would seem to face an uphill climb.
The park has seen some improvements in recent years. Senator Hoylman-Sigal noted a picnic area, a short trail and woodlands during a visit a few years ago.
“It isn’t as well maintained as many state parks, but there have been some improvements to it,” he said.
It also seems likely that a fair number of visitors to the park voted for Mr. Trump: In voting districts to the north and east of the park in Yorktown and Yorktown Heights, Mr. Trump drew more votes than President Biden in 2020.
Even so, Senator Hoylman-Sigal said that recent events had contributed to a flurry of interest in both houses that he believed could reinvigorate the measure to change the park’s name.
“We hope the verdict primes the pump,” he said.
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