Several years ago, as the Yankees negotiated to build a new stadium in the South Bronx, the neighborhood faced the realities of a massive construction project in its midst: parks would be closed and moved, traffic would be horrendous, life would be, for a while, a hassle. Yankee Stadium Is Going Up, but Bronx Still Seeks Benefits
So, as one way to make up for these inconveniences, the Yankees and elected officials signed a community benefits agreement. It required that the team would give roughly $1.2 million a year, starting when the work began, to various community groups through a special panel. The deal was similar to agreements in other major projects, like Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn and Columbia University’s expansion into Harlem.
But nearly 17 months after construction began, as workers race to complete the new Yankee Stadium by opening day 2009, none of that money has been distributed, and the group responsible for administering it has never met.
The seven-member panel also has not chosen a permanent chairman, registered as a charity with either the Internal Revenue Service or the state attorney general’s office, or selected recipients for $800,000 in grants or $450,000 in free tickets, merchandise and athletic equipment.
Elected officials have complained that they are in the dark.
4 comments:
Elected officials have the responsibility to see that the agreement is honored. They are the ones who so readily voted in favor of it after the Yankees bribed them with campaign cash. Maybe they gave them another round to look the other way on this.
Yeah....so where's the beef ?
I hear the Yankees are considering donating.....
1.2 million dollars worth of "Ball Park" franks
to the community each season....ha, ha, ha.
Just bend over to receive yours!
Even though the facade is being replicated to some extent, it's difficult believing:
1. How many mature trees have been sacrificed to accommodate the new stadium. Is that Bloomie's vision of going green? How is he fulfilling his PlaNYC 2030?
2. The historic roaring twenties home is slated for demolition, putting aside the fact of the errors of the facade alterations in the 70's.
When will the city wake up? They're burning the wick at both ends way too often, but I'm not surprised.
Yankee Stadium is surrounded by
blight, not a pleasant place to be.
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