Kn95
kn95, By 1986, New York had squandered nearly $13 million in endless surveys, planning errors and construction mishaps. The Wollman Rink became the poster child of a once-great city now in decline. Donald Trump, an up-and-coming real estate developer, had an office across from Central Park, overlooking the abandoned Wollman Rink. He made an offer to New York City Mayor Ed Koch. Trump said he would rebuild Wollman Rink within six months and pay for it himself. Everyone said it couldn’t be done, would cost millions and take years even if it could. They predicted that Trump the showman had taken on mission impossible.
kn95 - In true Trump style, he invited the cameras in to watch every step of the construction, and personally held news conferences explaining what he was doing. In November 1986 Trump reopened the Wollman Rink, two months early and nearly $1 million under budget. Children and their families came from all around New York learned how to skate. Tourists came from all around the world to skate in an open-air rink in the center of the city. Skating under the brightly lit Manhattan skyscrapers, and drinking hot mulled wine was one of the most romantic things to do in the city that never sleeps. Within just a few years, Wollman Rink was once again the jewel in Manhattan’s crown. The reopening of that beautiful, state-of-the-art skating rink sparked the restoration of all of Central Park and gave the city a much-needed boost of confidence.
kn95, During the presidential transition in Trump Tower after the 2016 election, I asked one of Trump’s long-time associates how Trump had done it. The associate said the biggest challenge was building a cooling system that would keep the ice at a steady temperature regardless of the weather. New York City bureaucrats had spent years studying it and still hadn’t found a solution. So Trump took charge himself, picked up the phone and called the owners of the Toronto and Montreal hockey teams, which played in outdoor stadiums from fall to spring. He asked how they did it. He got the information he needed, and within a few days had a plan.
kn95 - Trump started construction almost immediately and within four months – not the promised six – he reopened the Wollman Rink. The ice was perfect, it didn’t cost New York City a cent, and Trump became a New York hero. No one knows at this point whether the coronavirus will ravage our nation, cause prolonged havoc in the stock market, or lead to an economic slowdown of considerable magnitude. But so far, Trump’s actions have all the markings of his trademark can-do approach.
kn95 - The president instituted border controls and travel bans early on, despite criticism that he was acting prematurely. He has created a whole-of-government approach to dealing with the crisis, taken steps to calm a jittery stock market, and is pushing for new, more accurate testing and creation of a vaccine. Unlike most professional politicians, Trump isn’t afraid of crises. I honestly think he relishes them. There is nothing he likes more than personally taking charge of a seemingly insurmountable challenge, especially when others are wringing their hands.