UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Longtime Manhattan Congressman Jerry Nadler is pushing new legislation that would prohibit federal buildings from being named after President Donald Trump.
The legislation, dubbed the PROTECT Act, comes as the Trump administration has been negotiating plans tied to the redevelopment of Penn Station.
According to Nadler, those discussions have raised concerns that federal funding — including money tied to the long-awaited Gateway Tunnel project — could be leveraged to influence naming rights at the station.
"I am proud to introduce this bill to stop Donald Trump from using taxpayer-funded buildings for his personal vanity projects, because New Yorkers deserve public spaces that they can respect, not monuments to tyranny and corruption," the Upper West Sider said on Tuesday.
The congressman, who represents large swaths of Manhattan’s West Side as well as parts of the Upper East Side, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal critics.
Nadler’s latest push is being framed as both a national measure and a local safeguard, particularly as the city awaits long-delayed upgrades to Penn Station and the Gateway Tunnel — projects seen as vital to easing congestion for commuters traveling in and out of Manhattan.
While the bill would apply to federal buildings nationwide, its timing underscores ongoing tensions over how major New York infrastructure projects are funded, controlled and — potentially — branded.
"Donald Trump is a convicted felon, a twice impeached president, and America’s chief insurrectionist," Nadler said. "His name is unfit to honor our nation’s buildings."
The proposal has not yet advanced in Congress.
For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.
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