https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/01/03/nadler-trump_feud_to_resume_–_with_higher_stakes_139078.html
Old grudges die hard and Donald Trump and Rep. Jerry Nadler have been stoking theirs for decades. The two New Yorkers with a history of mutual dislike are preparing for another rumble in the new Congress, when Nadler takes the gavel as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. After years of back-and-forth, Nadler may get to land the ultimate punch on Trump by controlling the first step in an impeachment process.
Unlike other New York Democrats who have tried over the years to ingratiate themselves with Trump for campaign donations, Nadler has tried a different tack. For the last 30 years, he’s consistently attacked Trump, which has elevated the congressman’s profile among liberals in New York and Washington.
The two have been trading barbs since the late 1980s when Nadler was in the New York State Assembly and Trump was developing the Penn Rail Yards into an apartment complex and park in Nadler’s district on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Using his now-familiar rhetorical style, Trump called the project the “greatest ever” and the “most important project” needed for New York City. He wanted one of the buildings to be taller than Chicago’s Sears Tower so it would be the tallest building in the U.S., which he said was a distinction that should belong to Manhattan.
The original plans for “Trump City” included a television studio, shopping mall, massive parking structure, and private park — and it involved moving a highway. This would be a major change to the neighborhood. Nadler aligned with community groups who opposed the development, which they called “the phallic symbol,” “tacky” and “overbearing.” By the early 1990s, Trump was having financial difficulties and just wanted to get the project approved and built.
At one point, he wanted federal highway funds for the undertaking, which Nadler, who by then was serving in Congress, managed to kill. Nadler also convinced then-HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo to stop Trump from getting a federal mortgage guarantee for his project, which the real estate mogul wanted to categorize as blighted land. “This was an area in the middle of some of the most expensive real estate in the country, which Trump was calling blighted in order to receive federal funds,” recalls Nadler spokesman Daniel Schwarz. “Donald Trump has a long history of trying to take advantage of the system to help himself. Congressman Nadler has always stood on the other side.”