The charity event aiming at auctioning the rights to demolish Trump Plaza in Atlantic City and using the raised money to fund the Boys and Girls Club was canceled due to safety concerns. Speaking with the Associated Press, Trump Plaza’s owner Carl Icahn revealed that his philanthropic arm will be donating $175,000 to the Boys and Girls Club.
Implode Trump Plaza Auction Called Off
An auction which came together in December with the help of Bodnar’s Auction and the Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small was aiming to auction off the rights to implode Trump Plaza and donate the money raised to the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City. However, the auction was canceled after attorneys for IEP AC Plaza LLC, a subsidiary controlled by Icahn Enterprises, revealed that they were “not on board with the situation“, nor agreed to participate due to “safety issues”.
“After exhausting every avenue to bring the parties together to make this exciting event happen, we received the final decision from IEP AC Plaza LLC that we must cease and desist,”
reads a Bodnar’s Auction statement
The cease-and-desist letter from Carl Icahn was sent yesterday and speaking for the Associated Press, he revealed that his philanthropic arm will be donating $175,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City. The owner of the casino property that once belonged to President Donald Trump decided to donate the sum to replace the money that would have been raised by Bondar’s auction.
Boys and Girls Club Needs Donations
Bodnar’s Auction acknowledged that the Boys and Girls Club was hit hard in 2020, similarly to other non-profit organizations. The auction company said that the club is in desperate need of donations to remain open. Besides running programs, the club offered children from the community a space to attend school remotely and provided hot meals for the kids who relied on meals they receive in school.
The auction company added that it is “extremely saddened” that the auction had to be taken down and urged people to donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City.
Formerly owned by Donald Trump, the casino opened in 1984. Back in September 2014, the venue was closed and it has remained vacant since. However, the old building’s exterior started falling apart in the last few years. Last year, the demolition works began. On January 29 this year the remainder of the building was set to be demolished, however, the date was pushed to February.