Citing Sandy as a game changer, Donald Trump and New York state parks officials have scrapped plans for a luxury restaurant and banquet facility at Jones Beach.
Newsday reports that excavation underway for the creation of a two-story structure with 86,000 square feet was flooded during the storm. A fence surrounding the Long Island site was demolished. State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey says Sandy opened everyone's eyes to the risks of building directly on the waterfront.
Trump says both sides agreed it was an inappropriate time to build a luxury restaurant at Jones Beach. He says his organization was ready to begin construction next year. Trump told Newsday he would not rule out trying a similar project in the future but said it would require a complete redesign.
Trump on the Ocean was supposed to be built about three years ago along the Jones Beach boardwalk, at the same site that housed a restaurant since 1936. A legal fight over whether Trump could build a basement in the catering hall halted the project.
Trump took the fight public in the fall of 2011, saying that the state didn't want him to build a basement "because they said, 'What if water gets in?' Well, if water gets in, you leave."
