A staple of Atlantic City for
more than three decades,
the Trump Plaza, came down in a matter of seconds at 9:07 a.m.
“Amazing,” says Joseph
Bodnar, of Bodnar’s Auction. “It was really exhilarating. I really enjoyed it; I’ve never seen anything like that."
“They said someone was in the Caesars parking garage, and there
was a drone being flown above Caesars, which as we know, which is a temporary
no-fly zone, so that’s what delayed it,” says Marty Small.
Mayor Small fulfilled a promise to city residents to bring the building down, which
sat empty for the past seven years -- deteriorating and becoming a safety
hazard. Crews will begin removing the rubble which sits stories high, but
what’s next?
“It doesn’t really
happen so we have one chance to get this right and if I had it my way, it would
be something mixed-use development or some form of family entertainment to
complement the steel pier,” says Mayor Small. “Our new $100 million water park
that we’re bringing in a month or two and just something that will draw people
to the great city of Atlantic City.”
The building in front of where the tower was
will be torn down, along with a building in the back that was left up to block
debris. Officials say the site should be leveled and cleaned up before the
summer arrives.